It is Christmas Eve and there is a question everyone keeps asking me: Are you ready? Ready for what? An onslaught of relatives, preparing to eat their weight in baked goods, all bearing gifts to be placed under a decorated tree…is that what they mean when they ask if I am ready for Christmas? Or do they mean are you in the holiday spirit? You know, have you heard the barking dogs version of "Jingle Bells” and watched the Claymation classic "Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer” so that you have the right mindset to recognize that it’s a special time of year? Or do they mean are you ready to do things you only do this time of year, like sip eggnog with a candy cane as a stir stick, hang stockings by a fireplace and put money in a red kettle next to a person ringing a bell?

Are you ready for Christmas? Maybe I am contemplating this question more than the person who asked it really meant. However, I think it is a pretty good question to ponder. What exactly are we all getting ready to do on December 25? And why would it be so important that I needed to take the past month to ready myself for it? Christmas is a unique holiday. It is one of the few days where commerce comes to a grinding halt in order that everyone can spend the day with people they love. That doesn’t really happen for too many other holidays – certainly not the other days that promote families being together like the Fourth of July, Labor Day or Thanksgiving anymore. Those holidays might slow commerce down a bit, but the retail stores are open for at least part of those days. In fact, it is big business to be open and to hold huge sales so people have somewhere to go (and something to buy!) Not so with Christmas. It is still held sacred enough that most businesses are closed for the day. So Christmas has this inviolable quality about it that makes it special.

Christmas also is a day associated with charity. We think of charity as giving something of value to those in need. Some might call it giving alms, but Christmas charity goes beyond just giving money to the needy. Charity really has its roots in showing altruistic compassion for others in your thoughts, words and actions. In Old English, it is often used as a word synonymous with genuine love for your fellow human beings. That’s why songs like "I’ll be Home for Christmas” grip our emotions. If someone does not have family to gather with, it is not uncommon for friends to ask them to come into their home and share the experience. Other holidays don’t have the same charitable aura about them. Christmas is all about giving great value to charity in this deeper sense.

I believe that Christmas is also about having a very positive outlook on life. Some may call that hope. Others may call it having faith. Whatever you call it, there is the sense that I have been blessed and the blessing has not stopped. There is a forward-looking optimism about Christmas. Your problems can be put into perspective on Christmas Day. Things will get better. There is a hope that the days ahead will be good days. That is not to minimize the problems that weigh on us all – everyone has them. But there is something about Christmas that makes me sense that everything will be okay if I have faith and get my eyes off of those things that may be dragging me down. Your problems are not so large that your blessings do not outweigh them. What are the results of thinking this way? I believe it is true joy and contentment in life. Christmas has a way of making me count my blessings and be hopeful for the future.

So, are you ready for Christmas? If you are ready for a sacred day set aside to show genuine love and charity, to count the ways you have been blessed and have hope for your future, I would say you are very ready. So am I. So is our world. It is my hope and prayer that you experience this kind of Christmas tomorrow and for many days beyond. I believe it is the reason that Christmas came about in the first place. Merry Christmas!