It's almost a cliche now for practicing Christians who are fed up with the onslaught of the consumerist world to ask what the true meaning of Christmas is.
The business world has hijacked the phrase, "The True Spirit of Christmas is in Giving".
The intention of the business people in using this overused phrase is very clear - to drive their sales.
For everyday Christians we know all too well that giving is not as simple as made out to be in the advertisements before Christmas, brainwashing us to purchase, purchase more and purchase even more.
I define everyday Christians as those who practice their religion everyday and not just limited to Sunday worship but practicing what our Lord Jesus told us to do outside of the Church walls the rest of the week.
So what constitutes the true spirit of Christmas that is opposed to the non-Christian celebration of Christmas or pseudo Christmas? It should not be a surprise that the answers are in the Bible as told us by Jesus Himself.
In a nutshell, the true spirit of Christmas is really in the giving! The giving is of ourselves rather than focusing on the gifts.
The gifts represent our love for the recipients.
What sort of gifts appropriately reveal of love for those we give our gifts to? The hints that Jesus gave us were the criteria that He will use on Judgment Day to separate those who love Him from those who do not.

1. Feed the hungry.
   There could be homeless hungry people who we know of or have seen who could be offered a meal on Christmas Day.
   Invite them to your home for the meal together with you.
   
2. Clothe the naked.
   The same homeless people could be given clothes to keep them warm or clothes to replace their tattered ones.
   
3. Visit the prisoner.
   We could visit the prisoners and give them Bibles as gifts or some other gift that is appropriate.
   
4. Welcome the stranger.
   This will encompass any or all the above people.
   

Controversial as it may sound, Jesus did not come to make it easy for us anyway.