The Holiday Season is in full swing in the Finger Lakes. Downtown Canandaigua, a little village at the north end of one of the Finger Lakes, is all decorated for the holiday season. The store fronts have been filled with all kinds of merchandise in hopes of gaining a few more sales than last year. Santa’s House has been delivered to the square and soon Santa will be making his appearance. Children of holidays past might have asked for a new bike or maybe a doll, but for today’s technically savvy youth, they will be asking Santa Claus for the latest ipad or iphone or at least a 12 month renewal to their wireless subscription service.
The homes in the historical district of Canandaigua are all decorated for the season. And it’s a joy to see them all lite up at night. Their presence reminds us of holidays past – back to a time when we were growing up and having enough clothes to stay warm while waiting on the school bus at the end of the lane was one of our top priorities!
At our little church, we already have had our Christmas dinner. And as we ate our Christmas dinner with some friends last Saturday night, we talked about Christmas’s past and how our parents told us that they were satisfied with just an orange or maybe a popcorn ball in their Christmas stocking. It seems to be human nature just to keep wanting more and more every year. But when all of the decorations are put away for another year and the wrapping paper and Christmas trees have been conveniently disposed of in the landfill, the only true gift that remains with us throughout the entire year is the message of hope and love brought to us by the Christ child. So that’s why I say “Don’t waste the meaning of Christmas on the Holidays!”
James R. Bupp
