Christmas Can Be More Than Giving And Receiving

From early October to the New Year, the whole holiday season seems to be one giant whirlwind of colors and music and joy. There's something to excite everyone in every family. But Christmas is the time when the youngest family members seem to come alive the most, their excitement palpable, as Santa Claus's visit grows ever closer, with its promise of many treasures under the tree on Christmas morning.

Of course, adults love getting presents as much as their children do. That childish thrill of untying ribbon and tearing the wrapping paper off of a gift, wondering what's inside, is something that never subsides.

But, as most parents learned long ago, the real joy of Christmas isn't totally about receiving something really special from Santa. There can be just as much joy in the giving as the receiving. And the act of choosing a gift for a loved one or a friend is as spiritually uplifting as opening almost any present. This is something that children are especially attuned to, in their natural desire to please those they love.

As we spend this time, thinking about those we love and are close to, we're often reminded of those with whom we've disagreed or fought with. Each year, each of us probably has lost touch with someone dear to us, as the result of some perceived slight. While the details surrounding such disagreements may have seemed important at the time, we often regret these circumstances at the holiday season, when we find ourselves estranged from those we love.

Children can go through the same things. At school or church or scouts or soccer, they may have been through similar tough times with those they considered their friends. And being young and inexperienced, the pain of such anxiety can be harder for children to deal with.

Christmas is the perfect time for parents to talk to their children about the tough times they've had in the past year, with their friends. It's a perfect time to teach kids the value of forgiveness, and that, no matter who may have insulted whom, or who may have instigated an estrangement, forgiveness can be empowering and nourishing. Kids will learn, eventually, that no relationship is one-way, and that no matter how it may appear today, both parties have a say in whether a relationship continues or ends.

Christmas is the perfect time of year to forgive, and the perfect time for adults to teach children about the healing power of forgiveness. Whether we forgive someone else for hurting us, or forgive ourselves for causing someone else's pain, forgiveness is a gift that can renew spirits and relationships, into the approaching new year.