PASKONG KAY SAYA! What Makes Christmas Really MerrySample

Day 2: Better Than a Christmas Bonus

“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7 ESV)

Filipinos are big on making Christmas special. We make sure we’ve got gifts for family and friends, new clothes for our children, aguinaldos for our inaanaks, and food on the table for Noche Buena. That’s why we eagerly hope and pray that we get a Christmas bonus apart from the government-mandated 13th-month pay (we even have a song about it!). But what if the much-hoped-for bonus doesn’t come? What if we can’t afford to buy even simple gifts for our loved ones or prepare even a crude Noche Buena meal?

If it’s any consolation for us, Jesus’ birth was rather plain, even pitiful. Luke 2:7 tells us that He was wrapped “in swaddling cloths” and was laid “in a manger.” Tradition has it that it was a dark, dingy, and cold cave—not at all the place we expect for the King of kings. The same verse also tells us that “there was no place for them in the inn.” Meaning, Jesus didn’t get any VIP treatment just because He was the Messiah who had come to save the world. And even if there had been room for them in the inn, it still would have been a simple place because the “inn” being referred to here was one that offered only walls and a roof, nothing else.

So, what do we make of these discoveries? Our Christmas doesn’t have to be a bonanza of extravaganzas. Just as Jesus came into our world simply and quietly, it is also perfectly okay to celebrate Christmas with no fanciful displays. If we don’t have the means, we don’t have to go beyond, exhaust our savings, or borrow money just to put up an image or curate a social media-worthy post. After all, everything else—the fun and festivities of the season—are just bonuses. The real gift of Christmas is life... eternal life that comes from believing in Jesus, God’s only Son sent to save us (John 3:16). Let’s take this time to thank Him for His gift of life. Now that’s how to properly celebrate Christmas (and one that will cost us no money!).

How can you break free from the consumerist approach of the season? What are the cost-free but meaningful ways you can celebrate Christmas this year?

Heavenly Father, help me silence the noise that tells me that I need to spend more to make my Christmas worthwhile. May You find me grateful and content for the eternal life You have given me.