A New Christmas

 

*First published 12.29.2017 on previous blog

Once upon a time, I lived in a world where Christmas was sacred and simple.  It included the four weeks of Advent and extended until the Feast of the Epiphany (although post January 1 was anti-climactic, to be sure).  Those weeks were about ritual and tradition and focused on preparation.  Christmas Day was the end all and the be all and it wasn't just about presents.  Presents were nice but rarely spectacular and always moderate in number.   Mostly it was nice because there was a buzz of anticipation.  People were generally jovial and there was a lightness and a sweetness about the day that set it apart from all others.

Some years later I lived in a world where Christmas was magical and sparkly.  This Christmas season started around Thanksgiving and shut down pretty firmly on January 2.  The weeks before Christmas were about shiny eyes, about the earnestness of children wanting to please, and about the hunt for what would make those eyes shine the brightest.  Christmas Day was about excitement and wonder and magic and creating memories. The morning ritual was the most treasured and the day generally devolved into a poignant sense of loss.

 The big world in which I live now has Christmas playing in the background from September to January.  Big business and marketing firms have made a commercial "holiday season" that is all about spending money.  There are all these rules now for doing Christmas but most of them are about feeding the economy, not feeding the soul.  I've come to think of a contemporary Christmas as a check off Christmas.  A check off Christmas means just that.  It's a list of things that you check off to show that you are doing Christmas. The list isn't entirely about spending money but it does feel like a mandatory list. Get a tree. Check. Put lights on your  house and yard.  Check. Send out cards. Check.  Look at Amazon lists and order presents.  Check. Plan a party or a dinner out with work associates.  Check.  Buy the traditional gifts.  Check.  Make the coffee cake.  Check.  Make the big elaborate Christmas diner.  Check.  It's not a bad situation.  It just feels rather robotic and meaningless.

I grew up in a richly Catholic home and the birth and death of Jesus were the two quintessential events of the year.  Although I no longer participate in the Catholic Church,  I can certainly appreciate what Jesus and other holy people taught us about how to live.  I can be conscious  of the need to pause sometimes and reflect on the values that the holy people who came before us modeled.  That's what Christmas is for me now.  It encourages me to step off the everyday treadmill and feel the love of family and friends.  It allows me to breathe in the subtle winter beauty of the solstice time.  It invites me to look into my own self and see who is there now.   The sacred and joyful music of the season, the lights and the night sky, the search for a gift that will please my loved ones and not just check off the list?  These Christmas customs can make December a priceless gift to me from me.

 So what kind of Christmas would do this for me?  I like Christmas to dance with nature and the winter solstice.  For me, there is great joy in knowing that the daylight will come back.  I delight in imagining the warm days of spring and the colors of spring and summer.  I want my Christmas to be spent taking in the stark winter beauty outside.  Walking along the shore of the Pacific Ocean and feeling the immensity of creation and my tiny place in it all is exhilarating. The darkness that comes with the birth of winter is tough.  Sparkly lights can make that dark more bearable.  Allowing the music of the season to get into my soul can make me feel alive.  Most importantly, I want time with the people I love. The warmth  of shared laughter and hugs can make the cold of winter more bearable.  I do enjoy sending and receiving cards.  It gives me a good excuse (as if one were needed) to reach out to important people that I seldom get to see.  I like the idea of gifts  but not the check off kind.  I think one or two presents that mean something are worth a dozen or more of the check off presents.  Presents that give time or show thought are the best but no present is required.  Ever.

This is the kind of post that I wrote just for me.  It's a reminder for me that these were my thoughts as the Christmas season of 2017 wound down.  Christmas 2018 is an unopened gift which sits on a high shelf in the closet right now. Who knows what changes will have rocked my world by next Christmas. So goodbye, Christmas 2017.  Thank you for the moments of grace and joy you gave to me.  Thank you for keeping my people safe and giving me opportunities to be with them.  Thank you for letting me sit surrounded by love. Thank you for giving me occasions to be moved my music and the winter beauty.  I'll see you in my memories.