Hating Christmas.

I work with two women who say they "hate Christmas" because one lost a son and the other lost a grandson.  For them, they say, that just makes Christmas too difficult.  I feel sad for these folks.  Why would you dwell on your loss so much that you hate one of the best celebrations ever?  The birth of our Lord and Savior. 

I can honestly say from experience, the first year is difficult.  Partially for my family because my grandma's death was only 6 days before Christmas, which was her favorite time of year.  However, this year was completely different than last year.  Sure, we missed her.  But we were able to focus on so many funny moments and her "sisu" (Finnish for determination/stubborn-ness) that this Christmas was a wonderful one.  We shared stories about her portioning out her treats that everyone gave her, if you were lucky enough to be offered one, you were expected to share one with 4 people (meaning you got a quarter) while she enjoyed a half of a treat :)  Some may say that it's not fair, or that she should have been sharing equally, but I think part of the reason why she did it was because she enjoyed us teasing her for how she so very conservatively shared these amazing treats!

But back to these ladies at work.  Both men have been gone for at least 3 years.  Now, I'm not saying that I think they should be completely over their losses, however, to still count each and every month that they've been gone and to say that Christmas is better spent by themselves than with their families because of their losses...

Almost everyone I work with has lost someone close to them, but they do not "hate Christmas" they embrace this time of celebration and enjoy spending it with their families.  That is what Christmas is about, is it not?  Fellowship with family and friends remembering the birth of Jesus and what that led to.  They also realize that those who have passed on are spending the one of the best celebrations in a Christian's life with Jesus. 

I keep praying for the words to say to either of these ladies, but so far I have not found any that seem fitting. 

I am not insensitive to either of these ladies' losses, but I do find myself annoyed by their very vocal hatred for the Christmas holiday.

I don't know the point of this post, except maybe to say that even through our losses, we still need to be grateful for the birth of our Redeemer... and maybe in part to vent too. 

So I leave you with... could you hate Christmas?  How would you deal with someone who openly hated the holiday due to a loss they suffered?

Blessings in Christ,