Christmas Eve is a night full of hope. People around the world spend the night with thoughts of the coming day. For most of them, these are thoughts of joy and happiness, full of light and promise.
Although many people complain about the commercialization of Christmas (and justifiably so), the day does bring about hope for many people all over the world. Certainly, some of that hope is misplaced. However, I believe that God looks down on our celebrations of His birthday with more satisfaction than disdain as more people turn to joy rather than fear.
Perhaps we can learn to approach every day this way: in joyful anticipation for the gifts we hope to find.