On the first Christmas Day, God gave us the greatest gift we will ever receive. That gift was His only Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 is one of the best-known verses in the Bible. It reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That one verse sums up the Christmas story like no other single verse does.

But the subject of Christmas is not that simple. It means different things to different people. People celebrate Christmas for different reasons. People have different expectations during Christmastime.

Those of us who follow Christ represent one side of Christmas. It’s one of our favorite times of the year if not the most favorite time. We know the real meaning of Christmas. We rejoice in the birth of Christ because He is our personal Savior.

But that’s not everybody’s Christmas story. Because of the dominant role of today’s consumer culture during Christmastime, some people dread this time of the year. Some are saddest and most depressed this time of the year. That’s the other side of Christmas. In this episode, Frank King addresses what he refers to as the two sides of Christmas.

Numerous reasons exist why Christmas is not a good time of the year for many people. For some people, they get depressed at Christmas and even angry because of the excessive commercialization of Christmas, with the focus on gifts and the emphasis on "perfect" social activities.

Some dread Christmas because of the pressure to spend lots of money on gifts and incur increasing debt.

Many people feel very lonely at Christmas, because they have suffered the loss of loved ones or their job. The constant reminders of other people’s happy seasons can serve as a painful reminder of the happiness and love that’s lacking in their own lives due to family conflict, loss, break ups, divorce, loneliness, etc.

The truth is that none of the reasons just stated have anything to do with the real meaning of Christmas. One reason many people are sad and depressed during Christmastime is because they have bought into a false narrative of what Christmas is all about. Frank reminds us that Christ came to give us peace in spite of our external circumstances.