You're a Good One, Mr. Grinch
It's Christmastime, and if you have ever spent any time at all with me during the month of December, then you know that Advent and Christmas are my absolute favorite seasons of the year. I love Christmas decorations, I love baking, I love holiday music, I love snow, and I love the feeling that settles over everything and everyone as Christmas approaches.
So, it may surprise you that my all-time favorite story, the one that I love more than any other, is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss. My favorite Christmas movie is the animated 1963 How the Grinch Stole Christmas movie (not a big fan of the live-action Jim Carrey version, but that's a discussion for another blog post). I have How the Grinch Stole Christmas Chuck Taylors. I have a How the Grinch Stole Christmas pin. There is a Grinch onesie currently being sold at Walmart and I was thisclose to buying the other week.
But Lauren, you're maybe thinking, the Grinch hates Christmas. How can you, you professed adorer of Christmas, like this fictional character so much?
I think that this might be a good place to slide in a little anecdote from my childhood. In my house, we have a birthday banner that is hung for everyone's birthday. This tradition has literally been happening since my first birthday, so it's an official thing. During December, we pretty much keep the birthday banner up all December, to mark my mom and my brother's birthday (the 6th), my dad's birthday (the 14th), and Jesus' birthday (the 25th). Yes, Jesus is not excluded from the birthday banner tradition. Along with the banner, Christmas dessert at our house means birthday cake or cupcakes in lieu of the traditional pie or other sweet treat, because what else should Jesus get on his birthday? When us kids were younger, we were at the grocery with our mom doing some last minute grocery shopping, and we went past the cake case in the bakery section. In that most beautiful of displays, we spotted it: a Grinch cake. We all wanted this cake, and begged my mom to get it. She said no, thinking (in a totally understandable frame of mind) that there was no way that a thief and professed Christmas hater deserved a spot on our Lord's birthday cake. She instead chose a different cake that did not, unfortunately for the three of us, have the Grinch on it. My mom would come to regret her decision.
That sounds vaguely threatening, but I promise that we grade school-age children did not exact revenge on our mom. Rather, she realized that the Grinch is actually a pretty good example of what she wanted us to understand about Christmas. We, as a society, have this idea of the Grinch as someone who is hateful of Christmas and would rather live by himself and not be around people. A couple of things:
A) It's possible that the Grinch is an extreme introvert and really appreciates his alone time, which, as a fellow introvert, I appreciate his commitment to self-care (and yet definitely think he should find a healthier outlet).
B) We forget that the Grinch's beautiful realization at the end of the book. When the Whos come together at the end of the story, the Grinch sees that Christmas doesn't revolve around the material things that we associate with it, but rather the togetherness of the season and the celebration of Christ. The dude's heart grows THREE SIZES, you guys.
But Lauren, you're maybe thinking, the Grinch hates Christmas. How can you, you professed adorer of Christmas, like this fictional character so much?
I think that this might be a good place to slide in a little anecdote from my childhood. In my house, we have a birthday banner that is hung for everyone's birthday. This tradition has literally been happening since my first birthday, so it's an official thing. During December, we pretty much keep the birthday banner up all December, to mark my mom and my brother's birthday (the 6th), my dad's birthday (the 14th), and Jesus' birthday (the 25th). Yes, Jesus is not excluded from the birthday banner tradition. Along with the banner, Christmas dessert at our house means birthday cake or cupcakes in lieu of the traditional pie or other sweet treat, because what else should Jesus get on his birthday? When us kids were younger, we were at the grocery with our mom doing some last minute grocery shopping, and we went past the cake case in the bakery section. In that most beautiful of displays, we spotted it: a Grinch cake. We all wanted this cake, and begged my mom to get it. She said no, thinking (in a totally understandable frame of mind) that there was no way that a thief and professed Christmas hater deserved a spot on our Lord's birthday cake. She instead chose a different cake that did not, unfortunately for the three of us, have the Grinch on it. My mom would come to regret her decision.
That sounds vaguely threatening, but I promise that we grade school-age children did not exact revenge on our mom. Rather, she realized that the Grinch is actually a pretty good example of what she wanted us to understand about Christmas. We, as a society, have this idea of the Grinch as someone who is hateful of Christmas and would rather live by himself and not be around people. A couple of things:
A) It's possible that the Grinch is an extreme introvert and really appreciates his alone time, which, as a fellow introvert, I appreciate his commitment to self-care (and yet definitely think he should find a healthier outlet).
B) We forget that the Grinch's beautiful realization at the end of the book. When the Whos come together at the end of the story, the Grinch sees that Christmas doesn't revolve around the material things that we associate with it, but rather the togetherness of the season and the celebration of Christ. The dude's heart grows THREE SIZES, you guys.
And that's why my mom regretted not getting the Grinch cake that year. Because the Grinch reminds us what is important about Christmas. A few years later, my mom made a Grinch cake for Christmas with the inscription in icing of "It came with ribbons! It came without tags!"
This whole thing isn't to say that Christmas decorations are bad and that Christmas gifts are evil. It's to say that they shouldn't be the focus. I, for one, love to give gifts. It's one of my love languages. But, I love giving gifts because I like the thought that has to go into it. I take a lot of joy in finding presents that fit people and will bring them joy. Presents should serve as a reminder of the event of Christ's birth, not a distraction from the reason we celebrate in the first place. The same goes for Christmas decorations and baking and all of the things that we associate with the season. It should all serve as a festive, peppermint- and gingerbread-scented arrow pointing right back to our themes of family and the joy in Jesus. If it doesn't, then we've maybe lost sight of why we celebrate. Think of it this way: if everything Christmas-themed was taken away by a, say, furry creature and his adorable dog that live on the mountain on the outskirts of town, how would you react? Would you be in despair that Christmas was gone, like the Grinch hoped? Or would you find joy in the people that you surround yourself with? We're all called to be like the Whos. In a world where it seems as if we're becoming more divided and divisive, what could be a better goal for us than standing all in a circle, holding hands, and singing a song that doesn't actually make any sense at all?
So, have a very merry Christmas, friends. Remember why you celebrate. Try to let your heart grow three sizes this season.
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