Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Grinch

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (featuring Boris Karloff) was always one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid.  However, I really, strongly DISLIKED the Jim Carrey version.  I found it extremely obnoxious. So, when I show my son The Grinch he will be watching the cartoon version. 

http://magazine.uc.edu/content/dam/magazine/images/famous/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas-movie-poster-1966-1020427389.jpg

That's not really the point of this post however.  This post is about us. You and me.

Lately, I've been thinking about the Grinch a bit.  Two different people quoted the poem at church this last Sunday.  The moral usually seems to be the same, that Christmas is about more than presents, more than food, and more than commercialism.  If someone came and took all that away, Christmas would still exist and it would be joyful.

However, what if someone really did take all that away?

How would I have reacted Christmas morning if I came out and all the presents were gone?  What if someone had stolen our Christmas tree?  What if someone had taken all of our food?

I would have cried.  I wouldn't have held hands with my family (at least not at first) and sang Christmas songs about "Fahoo Fores Dahoo Dores", I would have probably cried my eyes out.  With me, The Grinch would have heard the sadness he so desperately sought. 

I'm sure eventually my parents would have helped me see the joy behind Christmas anyway, but for a few moments, I would have been broken-hearted.  Then, after having a wonderful talk with my family, we probably would have joined hands and sang.

If you've never seen Jimmy Kimmel's Halloween prank on youtube, it can be quite hilarious.  Basically, the day after Halloween, the parents take all the Halloween candy and hide it.  When the children wake up, the parents tell them that they became hungry during the night and ate all of the candy.  It is interesting to see some of the kids' reactions.  Some cry, some forgive, and some turn into screaming monsters. 

And that's just Halloween candy. 

What about you?  How would you react if they really did take away all the commercialism and it became a simple family ceremony with songs and Christ?

It definitely wouldn't be terrible.  I do, however, really enjoy Christmas traditions.  I feel like traditions bring families together and give children something to look forward to.  I'm sure we could replace the expensive gifts with other wonderful traditions of service and love, but I really like giving gifts to others.  I wouldn't want that tradition to go away.  Maybe it should just be simplified. 

Christmas is wonderful, and I'm thrilled that it's tomorrow!  I probably won't blog on Christmas.  Hopefully none of you will miss me too much. 

I'm sure you'll be okay. 

Have a Merry Christmas!  Keep the spirit of Christ alive in your hearts during this holiday season, and may we all be as happy as the Whos with whatever gifts others may give us. 

Don't let The Grinch win.

No comments:

Post a Comment