Why the Christmas spirit has power beyond Christianity

Yes, indeed, it is the season of giving. But, most of all, it is the season of giving in to the stress and anxiety of buying just the right thing — or at least something — that will please the receiver, from the slightly estranged relative we'll meet under the Christmas tree to the tyrannical child whose wishes haunt us through the crowded stores. We enjoy an overload of cheap Chinese merchandise, and sales of all kinds lure us into endless lines, parking lot rivalries, traffic gridlock, and late-night internet splurging. Then there's the endless wrapping with stacks of paper, all to end in a messy pile within minutes. It is the things, material and tangible, we seem to care most about. As parents, how could we possibly sacrifice first impressions of Santa's generosity for the sake of "less is more"?

But as hard as this question is to confront just a couple of days before Christmas, we should ask ourselves, for Christmas' sake, "is more really more?" Shocking as it may be to those of us who find ourselves in a whirlwind of buying, propelled by a fear that we might not be giving enough, or not the right "thing," the real Christmas is really more about receiving than it is about giving. And this message carries meaning for Christians and non-Christians alike.