Happy holidays to you and yours!
In her book, “The History of Christmas,” Heather LeFebvre of Brownsburg, reveals that the holiday was co-opted by early Christians.
“Everybody needs to know what the real history is,” said LeFebvre, the wife of a Christian pastor. “It was a secular holiday, then the Christians put a new wallpaper over it, and now the secular people want it back again.”
LeFebvre wrote that Christmas has been celebrated and not celebrated over the intervening years. For many years Christmas was pretty low key. Then Charles Dickens revived its popularity.
“Scriptures don’t command us to celebrate Christ’s birth,” she said. “God wants us to have joy in our hearts, and (Christmas) is something we can do to foster that.”
By the way, LeFebvre is a huge fan of Christmas and compiled the history to teach her children. Researching the past eased her holiday stress.
“For me personally, it set me free from thinking that I had to carry on all these traditions to keep Christmas alive,” she said. “Christmas has been changing all the time.”
However you celebrate, is up to you, your family and your friends. Do not let holiday stress ruin Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever you celebrate. Make new traditions.
One tradition you could start this year is to buy at least one gift from a local small business. If you can afford it, remember the less fortunate or support your favorite charity.
May your holiday be extra special this season and your new year and new decade be prosperous.
