I was born and raised in Ohio. My husband and I moved to Palatka to join the Hope FM family about a year ago. While we are settling in nicely to our new Florida home, there is one thing we desperately miss about home: snow. This time of year I feel especially homesick. It just doesn't feel like Christmas when it's 80 degrees.
Good news for us, my parents are flying us home to spend Christmas with them. We are very excited and praying for a white Christmas. But the thing is, even in Ohio, I can remember more 50 degree Christmases than I can ones with snow on the ground.
As much as I love snow, snow isn't what makes Christmas. Christmas is so much more than a meteorological event. In the words of Kris Kringle:
Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind. -Miracle on 34th Street
Whether or not I get my white Christmas and whether I'm in Florida or Ohio, Christmas is Christmas because of the manger. Christmas is Christmas because of familial love that stretches across state borders.
The idea that Christmas must include snow has been popularized by Bing Crosby and Hollywood. But people all over the world celebrate the birth of Christ just fine without snow. In some parts of the world, Christmas actually occurs in the summer.
So while I may be dreaming of a white Christmas, that's not the most important thing. Whether or not snow is on the ground, families can still come together. Carols can still be sung. Someone can hear the Gospel for the first time. Snow is very pretty, but it's not the most important thing.
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