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| CARTOON - November 18, 2008 |
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| EDITORIAL - November 18, 2008 |
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| It’s about more than giving gifts |
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Advocate Staff
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With Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day behind us, the Christmas season is fast approaching.
It’s the season that (almost) everyone loves, and with good reason. Family, friends, food, carols and the giving of gifts.
It’s the spirit of love and giving that makes Christmas different from many other holidays and it is this spirit that is sometimes misunderstood.
It’s well and good to give gifts to those you love to show how much you care about them.
But there’s the other side of giving that is also a major component of that Christmas cheer. it’s giving to those less fortunate or helping out those organizations that help people in need.
And this type of selfless, often thankless giving is the true spirit of Christmas. Of course, it’s great to see that beaming smile of you wife, your husband, you child or your friend when they open that special gift.
But there’s a particularity warmer feeling knowing that you gave a little more to help those with a little less.
And there’s no shortage in town this Christmas of ways to do so. Several events are coming up that call for donations of everything from food to toys to money.
These events include the EMS team’s ‘Stuff An Ambulance’ Drive, Santa’s Anonymous, and Operation Christmas Child to name just a few.
Most ask for surprisingly little compared to how much we can typically spend on each other. The fact that it takes so little to help so much makes it all the more easier — and sweeter — to do.
The money and items they raise go a surprisingly long way.
A few dollars or a toy can make the difference between a lousy and a great Christmas for a child here in Athabasca with Santa’s Anonymous, or it could even make a lifetime of difference to children halfway around the world with Operation Christmas Child.
The reality is that no matter what you do or how much you give, you make all the difference in the world, while barely making it harder on yourself.
So this season, as you peruse the stores for gift ideas, take that extra minute and that extra dollar to consider helping those less fortunate and keep an eye out for the various opportunities in town to do so.
That way, come Christmas day, you can feel that extra bit of warmth that you made some one else’s Christmas that much closer to being as lovely as yours will be. |
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