Can it really be the end of 2024 already? As we arrive at the cusp of having another year in the bag, it's good that we all have the cheerfulness of the Xmas spirit in the air to serve as a comforting distraction to the ever-accelerating passage of time.
I, for one, absolutely love this time of year for so many reasons, though those reasons have shifted around quite a bit as I've gotten older, with childhood's nail-biting anticipation and excitement of the impending visit from Santa and accompanying showering of gifts later being replaced by the appreciation of the holiday break from the school and work to then reveling in the joy of watching my own child experience my prior excitement to eventually coming to simply cherish the quality time with family, all the warmth that it brings and finding more meaning in the holiday than ever before. It seems that it all just gets richer and more precious with age, which is perhaps the most beautiful gift that the season could ever offer us.
It's in this very spirit of togetherness, gratitude, and generosity that comes along with the holiday season that I write this episode's piece on what we've come to associate Xmas with in modern America and how that compares to its history. If you've seen the classic Charlie Brown Xmas Special from 1965 (I highly recommend it, if you haven't), you might already have an idea of where I'm going with this.
Christmas has been celebrated through the centuries by many names - Midwinter, Yule, and Koleda being a few - and has taken on both non-religious and religious meanings. However, its history in the United States (and many other countries) has historically been centered around the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the ideals of peace on Earth, and good will toward our fellow man.
Whether or not one considers these ideals as being celebrated despite or because of the holiday's religious association, they have undeniably been an inseparable part of it, being not only celebrated by time with loved ones but with a more general promotion of togetherness and love for all of mankind, with holiday cheer, charitable donations and volunteer work, the welcoming of any into our fold, and generosity in all its forms being practiced throughout the holiday season as a way to exemplify these values.
Today, while all of this still maintains its presence, it seems to many to have been overshadowed by rampant commercialism and, for many of us, the stress that comes with navigating through dense traffic to fight the crowds at stores and shopping malls, all to ensure we buy enough of the right gifts for everyone on our list in a prepackaged gesture to demonstrate how much we still care about them.
We usually pull it off yet find that if we stop to evaluate how it feels in the moment. it often rings a little hollow. We seem to have been simply going through the motions, having allowed ourselves to be distracted with the hijacking of Christmas by retailers for so long that we've lost sight of that original meaning: to come together with those you love and put aside grudges and gripes, to use the opportunity of this unique time of year to spread joy and compassion to everyone within reach. Religious or secular, these ideas represented by such a largely Christian holiday can be embraced and practiced by all of us. And the more we can get back to that, the more warmly fulfilling Christmas will be for everyone.
This Christmastime, let us all try to keep these at the forefront of our minds - to strive to let these virtues and practices be our focus. The gifts and other fun traditions will of course be there, too, but let us have them adorn the holiday instead of being its center. And may this holiday season prove the warmest and most loving one in recent memory for all of us!
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