Real Meaning of Xmas?

As Christmas approaches, I was thinking about the "real" meaning of Christmas. Many people will say that the real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It has always seemed like a contradiction to me that these very same people hardly mention the name of Jesus on December 25. They hardly give Him any thought at all.

I think it is important to examine WHY we do what we do. Do we cut down a pine tree and bring it into our house for a few weeks in December, only to throw it away later just because that's what everyone else does? Hmmmm.

The main point of all this: Do we SAY that Christmas is all about Jesus and yet our time and mental energies are devoted to trees, decorations, food, gifts, materialism, etc. According to Jesus, there are many people who give Him lip service, but their lives don't match up. He is not stupid. He is not blind. He knows. :-)

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matt 7:21-2321).

"These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Matt 15:88).

I don't want to SAY one thing, but LIVE another. I suppose it's better to go against the flow, eh?

PS--I read a very good article researching the history of Christmas. The tree. The decorations. Santa Claus. The MATERIALISM. Any decent encyclopedia should have a good overview of where all these things came from, but the following article was well-written in my opinion. Please check out the link below from US News and World Report, December 1996:

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/961223/archive_009449.htm