“Let's have a more humble Christmas, with more humble gifts,” Pope Francis said in his weekly general audience at the Vatican.
The Pope’s message “to lower the level of Christmas spending” is a plea for help to the people of Ukraine who will be spending winter nearly 10 months into the war. “Let's send what we save to the Ukrainian people, who need it,” Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis’ message goes deeper than having a “humble Christmas;” it is also a reminder of an element of the spirit of Christmas – sharing. Sending what we saved from overspending in Christmas gift-giving and food for parties to help the people of Ukraine is just one form of sharing which embodies the Christmas spirit.
Sharing comes in many forms and it all starts if the giver has a caring and generous heart. A person learns how to share from the home. So Christmas is also the time to teach the younger members of the family the value of sharing.
Why is sharing a big element of the Christmas spirit? The world celebrates Christmas because of the birth of Jesus, God’s gift to mankind. Inspired by Jesus who loved the poor, the spirit of giving pours out during Christmas time and is directed to those who have less. Gift-giving came as a form of sharing, and history records the tradition started sometime in the 15th century. Today, December is known as the Month of Giving.
The most popular form of sharing is giving part of what you have – or of your blessings –to others. One of the most popular is through the distribution of food and meals to the poor. By this time, we have seen many such sharing events conducted by government and private organizations who have made this an annual Christmas activity.
There are many non-profit organizations (NGOs) who are involved in Christmas sharing programs. Some distribute food baskets to families, others feed malnourished children until their condition improves, some groups share their time and talent to take care of the sick. They welcome people who want to share their blessings.
Sharing during Christmas has also become a tradition of many families who have made distributing meals to the homeless a regular Christmas activity. They are the ones on street corners giving meal boxes to street kids on Christmas Eve.
Another form of sharing is the sharing of one’s time. Tens of thousands of volunteers around the world share their time and talent to help people during Christmas season, times of calamities, and ordinary days. Volunteers with talent teach adults or children new skills – from reading, math, to craft making. Others share the joy of dance and song through musical shows staged at hospitals or homes for the aged.
There’s another form of sharing – performing random acts of kindness to a stranger. Pay for a stranger’s meal, groceries, or medicine; visit a sick neighbor; or just sit beside a person going through a crisis without saying anything. A better idea, start a family tradition by sharing part of your noche buena with the family of someone who makes life more convenient for you, like the garbage collector or the delivery rider.
Why has sharing lived on for generations? Studies reveal what many of us already know. It is because it gives joy to both the giver and the recipient. To the giver, there is joy when he or she sees the happiness it has brought to other people.
Go and do your share in spreading joy and the spirit of Christmas today!