The Spirit of Christmas = The Spirit of Christ

I thank God that I wrote most of this yesterday, because I am literally sick and literally tired, and I really don't think I could blog very well right now if I hadn't already primed the pump, so to speak.

"To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable and it becomes the Spirit of Christ." - Thomas S. Monson

This makes a lot of sense to me. Honestly, I don't know how many distinct "spirits" there are, besides the spirits of individuals. Most of the spirits we read about in the scriptures, including the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of revelation, the holy spirit of promise, "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord" (Isaiah 11:2), and many others, I'm sure, all seem to be other names or titles for the Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Christ, better known as the Holy Ghost. Then, it shouldn't be surprising to me that the "Spirit of Christmas" is yet another name or title for the Holy Ghost.

Given the knowledge that the Spirit of Christmas is another name for the Holy Ghost, this teaches us that we can cultivate the Spirit of Christmas in our hearts the same way we cultivate the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and vice versa. Singing hymns, particularly the hymns about Jesus Christ, being charitable, and spending time with family are all great ways to get in touch with the Spirit of Christ and of Christmas. I plan to do many of those things when Finals are over and I'm not so dead tired.