Why am I passionate about celebrating Jesus at Christmas?

I grew up in a loving family and although we attended church on Christmas eve and lit the Advent wreath on Sundays, Christmas was primarily focused on Santa and receiving gifts - lots of them.  When I became a born-again believer as an adult, I wanted to focus more on the birth of Christ and less on Santa.  Intentionally focusing on Jesus for a month produced a life-changing impact on me and my children.   I am passionate about sharing these ideas with others in hopes that it will also lead their kids, neighborhoods, and friends to Christ.   I personally feel like commercialism has stolen Christmas from Christians and made it just about buying stuff and getting stuff and taken the joy out of the holiday (which comes from "holy day"). I remember a let down after Christmas each year - it had just been stuff which only satisfies temporarily.  Only Jesus can truly satisfy. The two strongest Scriptures that inspired me were Leviticus 20:23 - You must not live according to the customs of the nations and Romans 1:16 - I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.   I challenge you to immerse everything in Christmas about Christ. I know this can help your kids experience the risen Lord and have joy that is not based on circumstances or longing for more stuff.  The first challenge I have to is actually celebrate the season of Advent. Look for some ideas over the next few weeks.

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