This idea came to me out of nowhere when I was sitting at my grandma's house earlier today. My younger family members were opening presents, screaming at unreasonable volume levels when they freed something wonderful from its wrapping-paper cocoon. I was watching them intently when suddenly I was struck by a thought. A thought that turns Christmas on its head. I quickly put the idea in my mental filing cabinet.
"What if Christmas is not limited by what I receive? For that matter, what if the secret to living, the secret to thriving does not rest in the rewards of others, but in my own output?"
I looked up. My cousin was still screaming about his Knight Costume and showing it to his baby sister while she played with her new princess doll. They were carrying on as though everything was okay while the Christmas tree inside my head had just caught fire.
"What if Christmas is not limited by what I receive?"
This idea goes against much of what children are taught today. "Be good Johnny, because Santa will only give presents to good boys." Personal gain is the only motivation for being "good". It seems to me that Santa and all of his Christmas cohorts have ignored the line of the well-known carol:
"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake.
He knows if you've been bad or good, SO BE GOOD FOR GOODNESS SAKE."
In the economy of Kris Kringle, children are not taught the true motivation behind behaving well. They are good only because they expect something in return, not because it is the best way to behave. As soon as Saint Nick's true identity is revealed, what is to stop these children from being bad? Is our society really so debased in its moral principles that the only way parents can figure out how to squeeze good behavior out of children is to bribe them? Is this really the way the world works?
"..not limited by what I receive?"
To the children who are thrilled with the prospect of Jolly Old Saint Nicholas scurrying down their chimney and rewarding their goodness, this sounds completely preposterous. "Christmas is NOT about presents?? You must be kidding me!!" No, kids, I'm being one hundred percent serious. When I consider Christmases past, I don't remember any of the gifts that I received. I do remember the fun that I had with my family. When I think back to Christmas as a kid, I remember wrestling with my uncles. I remember eating Christmas dinner with my Grandma. I remember one Christmas when my entire family was staying in my grandma's house and her plumbing broke. I remember the squirming during the two-hour car ride home that night.
You see, I only remember my output, the little contributions I made into the lives of the people around me (like the bruises I gave my uncles). Maybe that's what Christmas is all about. Maybe it's a little silly to operate on a system of bribery. After all, last time I checked, the presents aren't the reason for Christmas. It all started with the birth of a Baby, with the giving of a Gift so immeasurable that a choir of angels couldn't do it justice. It all started with Output.
