Around the family table my daughter told me about the Christmas one of her friends had a year or two ago. There were no presents for her friend that year; instead the parents had decided to concentrate on Christ that Christmas, leaving the distraction of presents for one year. My daughter was adamant that we shouldn’t follow that example in our family. So I asked her how we could remember Christ this Christmas. She suggested that regular prayer leading up to Christmas may be important. We could also read the Bible and go to Church. And we could sing carols that remind us about God’s gift in Jesus Christ.

These are all good things that have been practiced by Christians for centuries.
The celebrations and presents were meant to underline the remembering of the incarnation. Unfortunately, they seem to have taken over entirely so that even for Christians it is sometimes difficult to focus on Christ at this time. So the idea of doing something different in order to keep Christ in Christmas does have merit.
As time moves towards Christmas, it is always difficult to keep up with all the pressure, but it is exactly in those busy times that we also need some quiet space and opportunities to reflect. Here in New Zealand in summer time that may not be so much sitting around candles and lights, but rather contemplating and praying while enjoying the freshness of the morning, the beauty of flowers or the quietness of long evenings. We can seek different ways of focusing on the true meaning of Christmas.
May the busyness not swamp our focus on Christ, who came to bring us new life by forgiving our sins and revealing God’s love to us.