So Christmas is again upon us - less than two weeks away and for some reason it's just a little different this year. This is the second Christmas for us in this house - we've moved so much in our 5 years of marriage that inconsistency is the only consistent thing we've experienced. But the same tree has managed to stay mostly intact (and mostly lights up) and the ornaments get rearranged often due to the short people in our house and their own sense of decorating the tree (complete with broken, half-chewed candy canes from the Clinton Administration).
And every year I/we joke that Christmas seems to be celebrated just a little bit earlier. When displays are assembled and stocked at the retail stores in September, I can't help but to start to think of Halloween as salad course and Thanksgiving the appetizer prior to the gluttony of Christmas/New Years combo meal deal and drink special.
And there is a part of me that is somewhat thankful for the Recession this Christmas holiday season - mainly in the form of turning (slightly) away from the over commericalization of Christmas. Along with the ridiculousness of the politically correct season. One of my new favorite blogs - Stuff White People Like - posted his entry #118 on what politically correct Christmas Parties white people can attend without repercussions of admission of faith or ethnic background. I find it pretty funny - in that we now have "Holiday Parties" instead of Christmas Parties. Just to cater to the minority in the group. Doesn't good will and charity transcend any religious affiliation anyway?
Christmas this year has seemed to just been like a cloud that determines our activities directly from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. With coordinating social engagements, family gatherings, church socials/specials, TV shows, office parties, decorating and shopping. All to culminate in a rather sedate experience on Christmas itself. And come January I'm finding myself begging for Spring.
Now, I'm not going down a Bah-Humbug Scroogefest here, it just seems to me with all of the delusion from the above factors that when the actual day arrives, the uniqueness and history are somehow lost in the translation and our traditions loose their luster. Or are lost altogether.
Maybe it's because too many families have suffered divorce and are fractured (some for several generations now) or the rampant commericalization that removes the purpose of the gift giving (and the gratitude that should accompany it) to the general expectations of giving to receive.
Like Christmas Card lists that are trimmed each year from those who we knew in our past but haven't returned the card from the previous Christmas. Isn't it the point of sending out cards to those who you don't see very often or to maintain some sort of connection even if years and distance proves to be a rather large barrier to cross? As a side note for these people out there who we only correspond with annual with Christmas Cards: don't just send pics of the kids - I don't know them - make sure you're in the photo!
Or the ever expanding list of trinkets that "should" be purchased for extended family and dear friends children (mainly to maintain favor with the parents in some sort of socio-political posturing). Even though we all know that the 5 year old won't care and won't play with it anyway - especially when it's one of a couple dozen things they'll receive this year.
I even look at the gifts we've purchased for our own kids - they'll get 3x the amount of stuff that would even be interesting to them for more than a few moments and out of all if the gifts - maybe one (or none) will actually hold their attention for a few months. They just find themselves stashed in the cubby in the play room/box.
This Christmas I would like to slow down long enough to appreciate the gifts that we do have: Good health, a roof over our heads, a job, reliable transportation. Not to mention the family and friends who have given the greatest gift that they can - the unconditional love and support of your own family. Hopefully our own family has been able to return this amazing gift throughout this past year.
And as New Year's Resolutions start to be formatted and contrived, that our primary goal for 2009 is to expand that group of dear friends even further and find new and more exciting ways to share of ourselves. My wife and I kick ourselves because we let too many months go by without having someone over for dinner for no reason. We enjoy it and it's not that hard to do! Those experiences weigh far more than any shopping spree at the mall could ever deliver.
Maybe a little step back from our lives just to look at the purpose of the tasks we serve that we might find more comfort and joy of the holiday season from the gifts we can readily give that we just can't purchase from a store. Bake some cookies for the retirement center guests, volunteer at a Chamber of Commerce holiday parade, give your spare change jars to the Salvation Army Bell Ringers, sing in your church choir Christmas special, watch your neighbor's kids so a working mother can get out of the house.
Think of the impact if the majority of us did just one of these things. It's how change happens and joy is experienced and how the solid traditions of giving that we should be passing on to our children so that they may learn of the true value of a life shared.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you and may you find blessings in this season and in 2009!
And every year I/we joke that Christmas seems to be celebrated just a little bit earlier. When displays are assembled and stocked at the retail stores in September, I can't help but to start to think of Halloween as salad course and Thanksgiving the appetizer prior to the gluttony of Christmas/New Years combo meal deal and drink special.
And there is a part of me that is somewhat thankful for the Recession this Christmas holiday season - mainly in the form of turning (slightly) away from the over commericalization of Christmas. Along with the ridiculousness of the politically correct season. One of my new favorite blogs - Stuff White People Like - posted his entry #118 on what politically correct Christmas Parties white people can attend without repercussions of admission of faith or ethnic background. I find it pretty funny - in that we now have "Holiday Parties" instead of Christmas Parties. Just to cater to the minority in the group. Doesn't good will and charity transcend any religious affiliation anyway?
Christmas this year has seemed to just been like a cloud that determines our activities directly from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. With coordinating social engagements, family gatherings, church socials/specials, TV shows, office parties, decorating and shopping. All to culminate in a rather sedate experience on Christmas itself. And come January I'm finding myself begging for Spring.
Now, I'm not going down a Bah-Humbug Scroogefest here, it just seems to me with all of the delusion from the above factors that when the actual day arrives, the uniqueness and history are somehow lost in the translation and our traditions loose their luster. Or are lost altogether.
Maybe it's because too many families have suffered divorce and are fractured (some for several generations now) or the rampant commericalization that removes the purpose of the gift giving (and the gratitude that should accompany it) to the general expectations of giving to receive.
Like Christmas Card lists that are trimmed each year from those who we knew in our past but haven't returned the card from the previous Christmas. Isn't it the point of sending out cards to those who you don't see very often or to maintain some sort of connection even if years and distance proves to be a rather large barrier to cross? As a side note for these people out there who we only correspond with annual with Christmas Cards: don't just send pics of the kids - I don't know them - make sure you're in the photo!
Or the ever expanding list of trinkets that "should" be purchased for extended family and dear friends children (mainly to maintain favor with the parents in some sort of socio-political posturing). Even though we all know that the 5 year old won't care and won't play with it anyway - especially when it's one of a couple dozen things they'll receive this year.
I even look at the gifts we've purchased for our own kids - they'll get 3x the amount of stuff that would even be interesting to them for more than a few moments and out of all if the gifts - maybe one (or none) will actually hold their attention for a few months. They just find themselves stashed in the cubby in the play room/box.
This Christmas I would like to slow down long enough to appreciate the gifts that we do have: Good health, a roof over our heads, a job, reliable transportation. Not to mention the family and friends who have given the greatest gift that they can - the unconditional love and support of your own family. Hopefully our own family has been able to return this amazing gift throughout this past year.
And as New Year's Resolutions start to be formatted and contrived, that our primary goal for 2009 is to expand that group of dear friends even further and find new and more exciting ways to share of ourselves. My wife and I kick ourselves because we let too many months go by without having someone over for dinner for no reason. We enjoy it and it's not that hard to do! Those experiences weigh far more than any shopping spree at the mall could ever deliver.
Maybe a little step back from our lives just to look at the purpose of the tasks we serve that we might find more comfort and joy of the holiday season from the gifts we can readily give that we just can't purchase from a store. Bake some cookies for the retirement center guests, volunteer at a Chamber of Commerce holiday parade, give your spare change jars to the Salvation Army Bell Ringers, sing in your church choir Christmas special, watch your neighbor's kids so a working mother can get out of the house.
Think of the impact if the majority of us did just one of these things. It's how change happens and joy is experienced and how the solid traditions of giving that we should be passing on to our children so that they may learn of the true value of a life shared.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you and may you find blessings in this season and in 2009!
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2 comments:
I couldn't have said it nearly as well! Thank you! Merry Christmas, Ryan!
Thanks Tania!
Ryan
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