Monty lives Christmas. He loves unwrapping presents, he loves treats and turkey titbits, and most especially he loves sausages, with or without blankets. He gets ever so excited, even in his dotage, when people arrive and when cards are pushed through the door. (He always gets excited by the postman, but that is a different kind of excited. They have an agreement, Monty and the Postman – the dog barks ferociously and the postman runs. Seems to work a treat every time! )
Monty doesn’t understand what Christmas is about, but he understands excitement, and he feeds off ours and gets excited too. And feeds off the leftovers and gets fat…
I love Christmas and all the excitement. I love unwrapping presents, and foody treats and turkey meat, and sausages! I love seeing loved ones and sharing gifts and cards. I even enjoy the postman visiting (he really is a very nice man!). But my excitement at Christmas is primarily because of what lies behind it all. What we actually celebrate on 25th December.
This year Christmas is going to be different, even difficult for a lot of people. Plans have had to change. We might only see those we love on screens, and have to forego the yearly family board game squabbles. It is perhaps going to be a quieter, more stripped back celebration this year. More contemplative even. But if we stop getting excited about Christmas, if we stop celebrating, then we have missed the point. Monty doesn’t understand what Christmas is, he just enjoys our enjoyment of it, and that is OK for a dog. Perhaps it would be true to say that sometimes we forget what Christmas is really about, and just get excited because everyone else is excited. Or excited because of all the treats and festivities. When those are stripped back, could it be that we might see and understand that our Christmas joy could be reliant on one thing alone? That God became man and dwelt among us, to bring with Him the gift of life, hope and eternal joy to all who will believe! Christmas is Jesus’ birthday – it might be a lockdown birthday – but it is still a birthday worth celebrating!
May God bless you with His Joy this Christmas and His hope in 2021!
