What if all you got for Christmas was an orange?

You’d no doubt feel disappointed and short-changed, as though Scrooge had been put in charge of the gift-giving this year.

A measly orange? Where was the new big-screen TV you were expecting? Or the latest iPhone you thought would be in your Christmas stocking?

Actually, there was a time when receiving an orange for Christmas was considered a special treat. Oranges were once so rare in northern countries that Christmas was the only time you would splurge on them, and they came to symbolize the holiday season. In some families, an orange would be the only present you’d receive, and you would be thankful for it.

These days, we receive so many gifts that one individual present doesn’t stand out as much. Not only that, we seem to expect increasingly expensive gifts as the years go by.

Surveys show that the average American will spend about $1,000 on Christmas each year, which includes gifts, food, and decorations. Parents spend an average of $200-$300 per child on Christmas presents for their offspring.

That would buy a lot of oranges!

But with all this spending, we don’t seem to cherish the most important gift enough:

Jesus.

Somehow the incalculable worth of the gift of Jesus to humankind gets lost in the mix.

So how do we return to viewing the celebration of the birth of the Christ child as central to our Christmas celebrations?

Some families put a firm and modest cap on the amount of money they spend on gifts for their kids, hoping to teach them not to expect expensive toys each year.

Others focus on involving their children in doing good for others over the Christmas season, such as volunteering at food banks or buying gifts for children in need.

Another idea is to take a page from the Dutch, who have two distinct and separate holidays in December, one for gift-giving and the other for Christmas itself.

In the Netherlands, children receive presents from Sinterklass (similar to Santa Claus) on December 5th, which is the eve of Saint Nicholas’ birthday. On this night, the legend goes, Sinterklass travels to the homes of every child in the country, leaving gifts for well-behaved children (or lumps of coal for the not-so-well-behaved ones).

Christmas Day itself, on December 25th, is a much quieter affair. Most of the gift-giving is already over and done with, so this day is focussed on a church service and a traditional family meal.

I sort of like this idea of decoupling the overtly materialistic aspect of Christmas from the true heart of it, which is celebrating the birth of our Saviour. The two holidays being separated in time may help Dutch families maintain a clearer focus on what Christmas Day is truly about.

And they don’t have to limit themselves to an orange to do it!

Feel free to share in the comments section below the ways in which your family keeps Jesus as the heart and focal point of Christmas!

© 2023 Lori J. Cartmell. All rights reserved.