Whether we are believers in Jesus Christ or not, most of us approach December with Christmas on our minds. We think of the number of shopping days we have left, the events and parties we’ll attend, the tree we’ll decorate, the lights we’ll hang, the foods we’ll make. We squeeze it all in on top of the rest of life’s obligations. While joyous and festive, it can be overwhelming.

Would you like to consider Christmas differently this year? Let every merry moment take you back to a little child, the Christ child. Take time each day this month to ponder why “Christ” is in the word Christmas at all. Take a Christmas path less traveled.

After all, Christmas is more than glitter and gifts. It’s “an event that really took place …. This is not a fairy tale or a made up story that should inspire you. … [It’s about] a real boy born to a real woman in a real town on a real day, so you can know there is a real Christ to save his people from their sins. God came to earth to live, to die, to be raised, to ascend, and to come again” (Kevin DeYoung, 2011).