Where did Family go?? by Garden Angel

Where did the "family" go in Holiday celebrations?

When I was growing up it was a given that you would be home for the holidays. Relatives would come and spend the day eating great food, talking, playing cards and just spending time as a family at Thanksgiving and Christmas. We would gather friends, extended families, in-laws and co workers and share the time of love.

On Christmas which is my favorite holiday. Family would come from all over to spend the day at my grams. Everyone would bring their signature dish to share. Others would come early to help cook. The cooking part took weeks to prepare and anyone who lived close would drop in to help. The big dinner was always around noon. After dinner the men would go watch football. The women would be in the kitchen doing dishes, cleaning up and getting snacks and desert trays ready for later. When the kitchen was clean and tidy the women would put the little kids down for a nap or the older kids would play board games. Then the adults would gather around the huge dinning room table and play cards, talk and catch up on each other. There was no fighting, or bickering, and no one laid around watching TV, that was turned off after 1 game. Later those trays would come out and we would all get ready to go to candle light service at grams church. Then it was home to bed to wait for Santa. It was a long wonderful day filled with family, friends and love. No presents were exchanged that day, just fun, family, love and the spirit of God.

Early in the morning we would go in the living room to see all the presents and try to wake up everyone so we could open them. Once the ceremony of opening presents was over and the wrappings picked up, we would have a big wonderful breakfast. After we would watch football or our favorite holiday shows and play with new toys till dinner. After dinner the best thing would be to get in the car and drive all over looking at Christmas lights till bed time. This was a day to relax and be with our personal family.

Those are the best things I remember about Christmas as a child. Christmas was filled with family, smiles, tons of unbelievable food, church and presents. Where did that go?? When did it all change? What's with this modern Christmas?

It's cold and impersonal. To many ppl to see on one day. To much rushing to get to other things. Dinner is reduced to a piece of meat, potatoes and a salad. No one gathers now without a TV blaring away and video games humming. And very few will spend any time at all at church celebrating the true meaning of the whole holiday, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you even say a prayer over the Christmas dinner? Do you say happy birthday to Jesus, and thank God for such a wonderful gift of true love? What is all this rushing around house to house, party to party, store to store get us?

Our families are a gift from God. Our friends are a gift from God. Our parents understood this and taught it to us yr after yr. What happened?

If we have extended families why can't we invite them over? If your married why do you have to split up and go to each families house. Pick a house and gather as one, then change the next yr. Do your best friends have someone to spend the holidays? If not, invite them to your family gathering and share in the spirit of love.

Christmas is a time to forget silly squabbles, past hurts that are ancient and differences that don't mean a thing. It's a time to gather together and reconnect as a family. Times are very hard now. So many have lost so much. Gather together as a family in Gods name. Remember friends come and go in our lives but family is forever and a gift from God.

Share the love you have with friends, and family now this yr for some may not be there in the future, and you would have missed the opportunity to share the love of this wonderful season with them. Forget the presents under the tree, turn the TV and video games off, and give the gift of love this yr. Honor those who are no longer here. Invite, call or send a card to someone who has made a difference in your life and thank them for being there when you needed a friend. Pray for those who are so far away at war.

Instead of opening presents open your heart to your family and friends. For all the pretty presents under the tree will never be as great as the gift of Love.