Christmas is always special to me because family is special to me. I love Thanksgiving and Halloween is becoming a competitor for that exalted "Favorite Holiday" title, but Christmas is by far my favorite. I love the family, the food, and especially the reason for the season, gifts.

But it's not the receiving of gifts that's so important to me. I have been learning that one of things that is Christ-like is generosity and giving. Christians(and Jews) tithe not because it's a salvation thing, nor does God love tithers more than others. Rather, tithing is to teach us to be givers and be generous with our gifts from God. Christmas to me is a way to emphasize that spirit of giving.

So this year, for the first time I contributed a substantial amount to a charity. This is something I've never done before, and it felt wonderful. At first, I wanted to feel recognition for this act because for me it was something unique in my life. Now I see though that recognition isn't necessary and could detract from the act. It will be enough to note on my blog that I did give, but I won't go through the details.

It was wonderful sending a few gifts to my friends and family, and I hope they liked what I sent them. I also made some delicious snacks and shared it at the Christmas party. Additionally, I spent some time decorating the cubicles at work and many people were impressed by the hard work. I just hope it brightened their day while being there at work.

The next update with include pictures as well as a summary of my winter break plans!