That Spirit of Christmas

Look around!!!! Did you lose it??? Have you found it??? Want some help????

It isn’t about presents, or food, or decorations or music. It isn’t about what you do or do not get. And it certainly isn’t about YOU.

It is about the Christmas Spirit, and nothing else. But what exactly embodies that spirit??? In a simple, but loaded word that holds different meaning to us all, LOVE.

Love for the family you only see around the holiday times. You know they love you, you know you love them. Nothing else really matters

Love for traditions and family “rituals.” Whether it is singing the “Chipmunk Song” with your sibling on the edge of your parents bed every Christmas morning or embarking to the same destination for Christmas dinner every year, it is that perpetual familiarity that we all reminisce about, and as we get older, long for.

Love for the wonder, innocence and imagination of kids. They believe in Santa. They love to sing simple songs like Rudolph. They can get more excited over an inexpensive plastic car that makes noises than any adult can for anything at that point in the season.

Love for the generosity of adults. In my parents house they had to build an addition just to be able to have enough space to keep all the gifts my mother buys. I am sure she is not alone in this notion of trying to appease and please everyone with the gifts they want. It is the ultimate form of unselfishness, and something more people should replicate.

Love for surprises, good conversation and even better laughter. When I was young, it was the enjoyment of hanging out with my cousins, looking out the window for Santa or sitting at the “kids” table. Now, nothing could take the place of seeing your family all in the same spot, sharing stories, cracking jokes and reflecting on the Christmases past while laying the foundation of “family” for the Christmases in the future.

Love for embracing sadness and creating happiness. There are people we have loved and lost, and, at the holidays, we always remember them more. That is good for the soul, even if it is accompanied by tears. And as we lose people to the inevitability of life, we continue to watch as our families fill in those gaps with news faces that stem from marriages and births. The cycle of life always continues, and Christmas reminds us of that.

Love for the hope of better and brighter days to come. Christmas is a time of renewal and rebirth. It is a chance to reflect on the years journey, and an opportunity to prepare for the days ahead. It is a reminder that as one year closes, a new one has just begun (Thank You John and Yoko).

So, as the late, great Ray Charles said, lets keep the true Spirit of Christmas with us, “ALL THROUGH THE YEAR.”