Have we adults forgotten the true meaning of Christmas?

Every Christmas, I debate what to get my niece, Ayana. I say this because Ayana is a girl who has been given almost everything she asks for every Christmas. At the age of three, her parents bought her a Barbie Jeep. At four she bought him a 25-inch color television. At five she bought a computer for her bedroom, and at six she bought a cell phone. As you can see, when I decided to buy her a doll for her seventh birthday, she was way behind. Of course, since I don’t have kids, I have no idea what kids want these days. Technology is all the rage, and kids are so tech-savvy that the toys that satisfied us as kids are long gone.

Ayana entered the room and ran to my Christmas tree, under which were boxes with small gifts. I usually give two or three “small” gifts so that the children feel like they are getting “a lot.” Ayana opened her present and when she saw that it was a doll, she sighed and said in disappointment, “Another doll!” She quickly put him down, got up, and plopped down on the couch, sulking. Her next-door neighbor Leesa, who came to my house with Ayana, looked at her and said, “I’ll take it if you don’t want it.” Ayana, still in a bad mood, said, “Go ahead. I don’t want it. I have a lot of dolls.”

Mind you, he was sitting on the other side of Ayana’s room, listening to this display of discontent. My feelings were hurt because I thought Ayana was being ungrateful. But when Leesa took the doll and hugged her like she was a long lost sister, I realized that Ayana was just being a child. She was seven years old, for God’s sake. She was reacting to a situation created by the adults, her parents and me, her aunt. Her parents had given her the best, and each year they had to surpass what they had given her the year before. So if a child receives a computer on his fifth birthday, a doll on his seventh birthday pales in comparison.

Leesa, however, did not come from a wealthy family. Her parents struggled to make ends meet every month. Just a year earlier, her mother died of cancer, leaving Leesa alone. Her father did everything she could to be a mother and father to Leesa, but for any girl who has lost her mother, no one can replace mom. Leesa’s father gave Leesa what she could, but that was nothing compared to Ayana’s parents.

When Leesa asked for the doll, I knew the true meaning of Christmas: to give from the heart and appreciate the thought behind the gift. She had also bought a doll for Leesa, and when she opened her own gift, she was doubly elated. She jumped up and hugged my neck and named her doll, Myra, after her mother. I watched as she lovingly played with the dolls. She said that she was going to call the other doll, Dolores, by my middle name. Ayana nonchalantly continued to sit sulking on the sofa.

Have we adults forgotten the true meaning of Christmas? And are we transmitting our forgetfulness to our children? Our children are suffering from the commercialization of the Christmas holidays. As adults, we can change the course our children have taken by teaching them the true meaning of Christmas: spending time with those less fortunate than ourselves. Here are some simple steps to discover the true meaning of Christmas.

1. Donate toys, clothing, appliances, etc., to children in need.
2. Volunteer in a group home for children.
3. Visiting a child in a juvenile detention center.
4. Sponsor a family in need for Christmas.
5. Donate to a charity that helps families in need.
6. Invite a coworker who doesn’t have a family over for Christmas dinner.
7. Spend Christmas with an older person.
8. Visit the elderly in nursing homes and nursing facilities for Christmas.
9. Volunteer at a homeless shelter.
10. Visit a sick person in the hospital during Christmas.

These people tend to be forgotten during the Christmas holidays, the times when they miss family and friends and the love that is shown during these times. Make a special effort this Christmas to give to someone who has less than you and teach your children that it is more rewarding to give than to receive, and you will discover that the true meaning of Christmas has not been forgotten.