Ask someone today what Christmas cheer is and chances are they will point you to a bar menu, a shopping mall, or a man in a red suit sweating under a synthetic beard shouting ho ho ho at children who are more interested in his phone than his promise of gifts.
Some believe Christmas cheer begins with a drink and ends when one can no longer remember how it began. Others believe it is measured by the number of shopping bags carried home, the size of the Christmas tree, or how loudly the carols blare from speakers while nobody listens to the words.
And then there are those who think Christmas cheer is hiring a Santa to wave at crowds while retailers wave discounts at wallets. It all looks very cheerful. Very colourful. Very busy.
But somewhere in all that cheer, Christmas itself has quietly slipped out the back door.
Christmas cheer is not intoxication. It is incarnation.
It is not about God watching humanity from a safe heavenly distance. It is about God stepping down into the dust, into pain, into uncertainty. It is about the Creator becoming created. About infinity choosing limitation. About power choosing vulnerability.
The first Christmas did not happen in a palace. There were no trumpets. No chandeliers. No silk robes. It happened in a cattle stall, among animals, smells, discomfort and poverty. The King of kings arrived not as a ruler to be feared but as a baby to be held.
That is Christmas cheer.
God came down as a man so that He could understand what it means to be tired, misunderstood, rejected, hungry, lonely and broken. He lived among us. He walked our streets. He felt our grief. He listened to our cries. And because He lived as we do, He has compassion when we struggle as we do.
Christmas cheer is knowing that when you hurt, God understands. When you are afraid, He has been afraid. When you feel abandoned, He knows that pain. And when you fail, He does not look away.
But Christmas does not stop at the manger. It moves toward the cross. That same baby grew up and chose to carry punishment that was not His, so that we could walk freely with God. Forgiven. Restored. Reconnected.
That is Christmas cheer.
It is not momentary excitement but eternal hope. Not artificial happiness but deep joy. Not laughter fuelled by alcohol but peace rooted in forgiveness. It is the joy of fellowship with our Creator. The joy of knowing we are not alone. The joy of being loved without condition.
So yes, sing your carols. Decorate your homes. Share meals with family. But do not mistake the wrapping for the gift.
And perhaps before telling children to be good because Santa is watching, we should remind ourselves that God came down at Christmas, because He knew we were not.
That is Christmas cheer…!