Christmas Thoughts for 2021

Christmas thoughts fill our minds as another holiday season is upon us.  Christmas changes for us with each passing year. When we were children, it was all about the lights and the presents, the magic and the mystery.

As we sat on Santa’s lap, we told him what we wanted to find on Christmas morning, giving our parents a hint of what to go shopping for. Christmas programs and plays were a joy to both the audience and the performers.

As we grew older, we learned that Santa wasn’t real in the sense that we thought he was. Instead we became Santa to others and there was joy in giving. There was a certain pride in being able to choose just the perfect gift for each person on our list. Christmas was still magic. We grew out of Christmas plays and into carols and chorus.

Once we hit adulthood, Christmas lost a bit of its allure as more of the responsibilities of the holidays fell on our shoulders. Now out on our own, it was up to us to find our own tree and decorate it. Will we send out Christmas cards? Who is on the gift list this year?

Yet, there is still a lot of magic even as an adult. The spirit of Christmas can’t be killed no matter how much we throw at it. It’s a feeling. It’s in the air. Even through the stress of the shoppers and the annoyance of the traffic, you can feel the difference in the atmosphere at Christmas time.

Christmas spirit is pure love. It is joy personified. People find pleasure in sharing with others in need. Even through the stress of these last few months, the spirit has not died.

Sometimes we are the givers, and sometimes we are the receivers. There is a great joy in being able to bring happiness to someone else. We have a tendency to turn our thoughts to those in financial need, but everyone can benefit from our friendship and love. Sometimes, the people most in need are not those without money but those without companionship. Giving time rather than gifts to these people is more precious than gold.

Certainly, some Christmas seasons will be hard for various reasons. Perhaps we’ve lost someone dear. Maybe financially things haven’t been good. These are the Christmas times when we are the receivers of the spirit.

I’ve had some hard Christmas Days. I think the hardest was 1989 when my beloved father died just 9 days before Christmas. I can’t remember anything about Christmas that year except that Christmas Mass seemed empty to me. He wasn’t sitting there in the pew with us.

We each kept the gift we were going to give him. I had a sweatshirt for him because he was always cold. I’ve since worn it out and it is gone now. But I will never forget what I had intended to give him as his last gift and I thought of him every time I put it over my shoulders.

I’ve had some lean Christmas Days as well. The first year Dan and I were together was financially meager. We didn’t have a tree, but we lived where we could go out and cut one. He found a small tree and he did have a tree stand. But, we had few ornaments. I made all the ornaments and garland for that tree. It was the best tree I’ve ever had because it was a tree filled with love.

I’ve been a Secret Santa for a couple of people. I’ve been the recipient of some Secret Santas as well when I was struggling.

And as another Christmas comes upon us, I look back at all those behind with fondness. Each memory is held dear because of the love of the people in my life. Some are gone, while others remain. But through it all I can say that Christmas has always been for me a holiday of love. This year is no exception. I feel blessed again this year by the people that surround me.

May you all feel the magic, the peace and the love of this Christmas season and share it with all you encounter.