New Year’s Day, as far as holidays go, has always been somewhat of a dud to me. As a child, it was kind of a let-down since it didn’t involve presents.

It was also something of a non-holiday to me because other than putting up a calendar—and maybe taking down the tree—New Year’s Day seemed a lot like all the others. It was fun to watch the parades and the football games, but not that big of a deal. And, of course, New Year’s Day also suffered under the knowledge that we’d be heading to school the next day.

A few years ago there was a slogan you used to see in a lot of places (especially where there were skateboarders): No fear.

Now, most of the places where I saw this applied, it was apparently a call to daring behavior in the worlds of skateboarding, skiing, music, etc. It had some value, I suppose. I like to snow-ski, but I am basically a pretty cautious skier. But I have learned that you can be too cautious. I’m not a risk-taker still, but I did learn that if you are too cautious and too slow it’s harder on your legs—and it’s not too much fun, either.

Here you are, you’ve picked up the church page expecting to read something about Christmas. I’m not going to disappoint you, but maybe I’ll surprise you a little.

I love Christmas. And there’s a lot about Christmas that I love. The decorations, the TV specials, the presents, the songs (except “Little Drummer Boy”) and the food—just to name a few things.

And, occasionally, I’ll see a little sticker or pin that says, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” What does that mean and why is it important?