Competition

There is a tendency for people to think American Christmas is the personification of greed, but I don't think that is true. Of course the people who are the crassest examples always make the news, but Christmas is whatever you want to make it.

I see a lot of legitimate love and caring. People who do good things, loving things for others for no other reason than it feels good to do these things.

Take the competitions, the BEST house, the BEST present, the MOST gifts, the MOST EXPENSIVE gift, the BIGGEST diamonds, out of Christmas and you have the possibility for so much joy left.

Those sloppy Christmas cookies decorated by chubby little hands, the crooked tree with home made ornaments, the eyes of children seeing Santa Claus, these are some of the joys that only come once a year. They don't start at Target in August. They can't be bought. They are impossible to commercialize because they require real children, real experiences, real love and patience, really being there.

This is Christmas with a capital C. It is love made real. The birth of goodness into a less than perfect world. It is a time ripe with possibilities that can carry over into the rest of the year.