I'm sure almost everyone knows that very popular, evergreen Christmas song "White Christmas"..the one that goes..'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas"? yes, that one. It's definitely one of the greatest Christmas songs (to me at least). I know the phrase 'white Christmas' and the lyrics of the song imply a "snowy" Christmas, and I live in a country where we experience our own special version (a harmattan Christmas ) but that doesn't make me love the song any less.
This is why I dream of a white Christmas... To me, a white Christmas, is one where there is lots of love, joy and excitement. A Christmas where there are much more smiling faces than sad faces. A Christmas filled with a level of lightheartedness that is almost palpable...I can go on and on, but in a nutshell, that is what my white Christmas means to me.. So, I've come to realize that so many people dream of Christmas in a lot of different colours.. Let's take little Theresa for instance,
she's probably dreaming of a pink Christmas. One that comes with a very beautiful 'Christmas hair' (a hairstyle picked by mom that promises to make all her friends green with envy), new clothes, new shoes, and more dolls. Or Funmilayo, whose Christmas will likely take on a red or yellow shade, she'll expect a whole lot of fried and jollof rice with giant sized pieces of chicken (might I add here that this season is a time of great sadness for the entire poultry population in the country), throw a few days holiday visit from some of her cousins into the mix and Christmas is signed, sealed and delivered..
This is why I dream of a white Christmas... To me, a white Christmas, is one where there is lots of love, joy and excitement. A Christmas where there are much more smiling faces than sad faces. A Christmas filled with a level of lightheartedness that is almost palpable...I can go on and on, but in a nutshell, that is what my white Christmas means to me.. So, I've come to realize that so many people dream of Christmas in a lot of different colours.. Let's take little Theresa for instance,
she's probably dreaming of a pink Christmas. One that comes with a very beautiful 'Christmas hair' (a hairstyle picked by mom that promises to make all her friends green with envy), new clothes, new shoes, and more dolls. Or Funmilayo, whose Christmas will likely take on a red or yellow shade, she'll expect a whole lot of fried and jollof rice with giant sized pieces of chicken (might I add here that this season is a time of great sadness for the entire poultry population in the country), throw a few days holiday visit from some of her cousins into the mix and Christmas is signed, sealed and delivered..
How can we forget Amaka? Amaka's Christmas will definitely be a green one with hints of red. It promises to be really really exciting, she'll travel to her beautiful hometown with her mum, dad, and her siblings. There she'll be reunited with cousins, uncles and aunts and grandparents she hasn't seen for a whole year. There'll be lots of eating, maybe a couple of trips to the village stream, lots of gisting, lots of outdoor games...and more eating.. Every Christmas comes in it's own special package. It might be way more grand than the last, imagine a trip outside the country.. wow! Then again it might not be packaged as elaborately as the last one, but that doesn't mean it's less significant. It's still really really special...because it's Christmas!
As we enter another Christmas season this year, can we do something? can we try to make it a little different for someone outside our immediate circle of family and friends? We could still give gifts to our loved ones, but if you can, please include a name, or two, or three, on your Christmas list. It could be the children in that family down the street who have worn the same worn-out clothes and sandals all year. It could be a particular family of beggars that you drive or walk past every day on your way to work. It doesn't even have to be a less privileged person or family, it could just be someone you know who needs to be shown that he or she matters enough to be remembered..
It could be food, or clothes or money or whatever. Because after all, what is the reason for this season we call Christmas? The reason, is that YOU matter, you matter enough for God to have sent Jesus to earth to die for YOUR sins. not his sins but yours. He went on that cross and bore the shame and pain without waiting for you to do something that deserved it. But Christmas is not about the death, no, it's about the birth. It's about that glorious night in the manger of a crowded inn, out in the middle of nowhere in a city called Bethlehem. It's about that beautiful star that shone so bright that night. It's about the awesome love and mercy of God that was so powerfully present that night. It's about that beautiful little baby boy, that was born to save the you and me..Thank God for His son Jesus Christ.
Thank God for Christmas. Thank God for His love that is shed abroad in our hearts...Whether your Christmas is red, yellow, purple, orange or white, whatever the season has come to mean to you, do have a very Merry Christmas!
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