I have to partially blame the marketing of Christmas... It's pushed on us earlier and earlier and makes people feel pressured to hurry up and "get in the spirit." And we want it to be like the perfect Christmasses we see in commercials and movies. We're competitive with one another, too, something I blame on too much disposable income. Who has the biggest tree, the best gifts, the best parties?.....
But, I think it's also something else. Life is so unreliable, with no constants, especially now. The world has become a scary place and we are all so busy, and distracted by technology. When we think of Christmas, we probably get an image in our head of the Christmas of our childhood. Decorating the tree, singing carols, baking with our Mom, going to church, opening presents. It's an amalgamation of simple, sweet, happy memories that we're nostalgic for. We want to be in that simpler, happier place again- we want to just have a nice day with the people we love.
I think what people are rushing around searching for is that feeling. But all those years ago on Christmas day we were celebrating something different- something profound and comforting and beautiful and uplifting. Something much bigger than ourselves that gave us a sense of "heavenly peace." If that's what Christmas is for you still, you don't really need all the rest- some of it is nice, but it's not that important.
2 comments:
Very well said. I was just thinking today that this is not how I wanted my holiday to be..sometimes not even my life. I love that old time feeling of making all things homemade. Being Creative. I loved Christmas time. Having a beautiful dress sewn by my mom. Making gingerbread men and foil balls and stuffing them with tissues and tying them on the windows with red yarn. Just those simple little touches that make your heart feel so warm. Christmas Eve in church with the candles and singing carols. Popcorn balls and oranges in our stockings. Homemade barbie clothes. They are the best memories. I sincerely hope that there are tons of people out there still doing some of these things, and maybe this upcoming year will change for me as well.
Nicely said, too!
It's a time thing, too. We all have less time to slow things down and do those nice things. But they're important- we need traditions. Look how much they mean to us, all these years later.
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