let's say this Christmas has been a lot more meaningful than the previous ones. i'm not sure why, though.

this year's Christmas was different in a way because firstly, when my mum asked me what i wanted for Christmas i just shrugged my shoulders. "i don't know". because i didn't really want anything. i mean, i had everything i needed. i remember when i was sec1 almost three years ago and i was still after new phones, mp3 players, digital cameras...but that changed after a mission trip to Cambodia at the end of sec1.

the situation in Cambodia is sorta like Issan...i saw how the people stood strong to their faith even through disownment by some of their families, the poor conditions they were in, and i began to appreciate how much i had.

this year, i started to think about how commercialized everything was. all the gimmicks, billboard advertisements, TV ads, Internet influence- basically mass media to get us to buy stuff because "it's the season of giving". i started to think how non-Christians were celebrating Christmas even though they didn't even know what it meant. i saw how even people of other religions played and sang Christmas carols as if they were regular, nice songs with no meaning to them at all. i saw santa claus pasted everywhere to signify Christmas was coming. why santa claus and not Jesus?

i heard some people boasting of what their parents bought them for Christmas in sec2. i saw classmates comparing presents, the quantity, the quality, the expense of some of the gifts they received...and i found it relevant to the ten commandments we learnt during WKRZ. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also." and i found that i didn't really find a need to hanker after materialistic stuff because that's not what Christmas is all about.

and i found myself really thinking through what Christmas should mean. so i finally came to a conclusion. this year, Christmas to me is about [because we really don't know when Jesus was born] commemorating and celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, because without Him we would not be saved. and it's not about the gifts we get, or how much we have or don't have but about how [as the saying goes] "Jesus is the reason for the season".