i might be a conspiracist

An advent conspiracist, that is.

With Thanksgiving behind us, the colder weather ushers us into the other holidays--the ones we celebrate in spending a lot of money, putting up wintery decorations, drinking things like eggnog, singing carols, giving gifts, making everything red and green (for those of us who celebrate Christmas). I like Christmas, in general, but these last few years I have become a little less enchanted with the embellishments and sugar-coated materialism that has unsurprisingly usurped Jesus’ birthday. All of these little things--the cookies, the perfect gifts, the extravagant parties--were supposed to help us celebrate this important time of the year, but somehow they started to become more important than the little guy in the manger who turns into the homeless carpenter here to turn our world upside down--not to mention God incarnate.

Before I start tossing in things like “remember the reason for the season” or “let’s put CHRIST back in CHRISTmas”, let me pause and say that I really do love the holiday cheer, the garland on my banister, and the fact that ginger bread bakes in my oven as I write. When I was younger, Christmas largely was about presents. Sure, I participated in the Christmas pageants at church and my parents drilled into me that Jesus really was the whole point (thanks, ‘rents!), but I just loved getting and giving things. Jesus got to me a few years ago and challenged me to commit differently to him, which changed the way I saw Christmas, presents, and most other things in general. Still, it was easy to plow through the holiday season, with finals and papers and deadlines around the weeks preceding The Day, and fail to realize the magnitude of it all--of Jesus coming and what exactly that meant and what exactly that means and what exactly that will continue to mean for us.

This year, I am celebrating the day that allegedly marks the birth of Jesus--and the days leading up to it--differently. With the other advent conspiracists out there, I’m seeking to re-center this holiday, spend less, give more, and love all. Will you hold me to it, please?



"Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
and there is only the dance." --T.S. Eliot