The sights, the sounds, the aromas, the flavors, and the feeling….
Whether you observed the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the United States or Mexico; or whether you’ll be celebrating Boxing Day in Canada, Great Britain, or Australia; or whether you’ll be celebrate Hanukkah; or whether you’ll be celebrating Christmas in the US or abroad, you know what they are for you.
For me, a woman who celebrates Christmas in the Midwest, I know what they are for me.
Here, we’re used to seeing the white Christmas pictured in movies and on greeting cards. We love the Christmas light too, so much so that we pay to walk through exhibits at places like zoos or get in the car and drive around through local neighborhoods on cold, December nights just to see the light shows of competing neighbors.
We also like to hear the familiar songs of the season. Some like to hear those notes earlier than others, but the closer we get to December 24th and 25th the more prevalent the Christmas music becomes.
Though aromas may be different for each family, we associate the Christmas spirit with the scents of gingerbread cookies fresh from the oven, or the smells of cinnamon, clove, and the other spices that make the hot cider just perfect, or the holiday ham resting on the counter with its clove studded pineapple rings.
Once the ham has rested and has been carved, and the hot cider has been poured into lovely, little cups, and the cookies have been decorated and plated, we enjoy the flavors as everyone plows through the food like a Ford F150 plows through the accumulated snow.
But then there’s that sung about, written about, and very much sought after “feeling of Christmas.” It’s the hardest of the five to quantity, and though it, like the sights, sounds, aromas, and flavors of the season, differs somewhat for each person, it is quite likely the sense most tied with a common thread.
When we were children, I believe the feeling of Christmas was pure excitement. School was dismissed for two weeks. For those of us in northern states, playing in the snow was often part of the days’ activities. Special treats were available, and we were often allowed to eat more of those kinds of things than usual. Time with family seemed more fun. Then there were the presents – the ultimate joy of Christmas.
As adults though, the feeling of Christmas seems not only harder to define but often gets lost in the myriad of tasks that await us during the holiday season because our regular responsibilities remain while additional tasks are added to a seemingly endless extent.
When I think about the feeling of Christmas now, I think of words like joy, love, and peace. I think of cold, quiet nights spent inside enjoying cheerful Christmas tree lights and warm fires. I think of lovely dinners shared with the people we love the most. I think of time to reflect and breathe and to look forward to a new year ahead.
The reality is, though, that many people cannot be with the ones they love the most at this time of year. Still others will smile politely and count the hours until the guests who are sharing their house leave because of the tension that comes with the holidays.
Peace and quiet time are often replaced by stress and noisy stores. Enjoying all the holidays have to offer is replaced by the need to fall into bed and sleep so that one can get up the next day and repeat.
Real life may or may not provide us with the picture perfect holiday, the one sung about in songs and depicted in movies.
If you have the opportunity this year to have that picture perfect holiday celebration, I am sincerely happy for you. I have experienced more than a few myself, even as an adult.
If your holiday is looking less than perfect this year, I sincerely empathize with you as well.
I have learned that sickness, death, separation, and pain in all of its forms do not recognize the holidays. They are cruel and colder than a clear winter’s night, and they can creep into your life at any time.
We will spend at least part of this Christmas Eve and likely Christmas day in the hospital with a sister-in-law who right now is very ill. Her house is nearly ready for the Christmas Eve celebration she had planned to host, but her plans changed, because life is like that.
We’re not alone. When I got home and took a few minutes to settle after we spent December 21st in the emergency department with her, I heard through my sister that a friend had passed away that morning, not even 50 years of age. She left behind her husband and two children who are just beginning their lives as young adults.
The stories of sadness at Christmas abound.
So I wonder, what will make Christmas 2016 feel like Christmas, when not only will I not be with my family at Christmas, but I’ll be spending a good deal of it in the hospital with my family in law.
If you’re a person who fancies the tradition of watching the “classic” specials on TV, you likely have seen How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You know that all the Whos in Whoville woke up on Christmas morning, joined hands, and started to sing, without their Christmas trees, without their presents, without their food for the feast – even without the roast beast, because “Christmas came, it came just the same.”
And if you’ve seen the Charlie Brown Christmas from 1965, you know that, frustrated with all of the “commercialism,” Charlie Brown throws his hands in the air and asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about. Linus then steps to the stage and quotes from Luke 2, concluding with Luke 2:11: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord.”
“That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown,” Linus concludes.
I have been raised to believe that. I have chosen to believe that.
As I have grown from a child and learned that loss and pain do not take time off for Christmas, I ponder that scripture, for if it is truly what Christmas is all about for me, then it is the one constant thread running from Christmas past to Christmas present to Christmases in the future that can allow me to experience joy, love, and peace whether or not the circumstances surrounding Christmas are picture perfect.
To those of you who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all.
The Listener 