Our rhythm of the year goes kind of like this:
This time of year, we’re all about peace and goodwill toward men, along, of course, with materialism, gluttony and glitz.
After Christmas is over, we’ll enter into isolation, a sort of hibernation, huddled up alone in the dark against the cold. Our habits and meals are stark, in match with the environment, as we scale back in reaction to the excesses of the holiday season.
Then spring comes and we are full of life and promise, ready to begin again.
Summertime is a sort of free-for-all when anything goes.
Then we arrive at fall, when we slow down to enjoy the cozy embrace of sweaters and warm drinks and crackling fires.
We have been through all that cycle, and now we’re back.
Now, and only now, with Thanksgiving properly and respectfully behind us, is it time to haul out the boxes, adorn the house, cut and bring in and decorate the tree.
Our hearts fill with good feelings toward others as we wish friends and strangers alike a merry Christmas or happy holiday.
What is this phenomenon of Christmas spirit?
Throughout the Christmas season, we are more pleasant with others. Our hearts are gentler. Our smiles are quicker to come.
Why can we not have Christmas spirit all year long? Well, I suppose we’d get a little tired of always having to be nice and pleasant, wouldn’t we?
Or perhaps the goodwill of Christmastime would not be as pronounced during this season had it not been a bit blunted during the rest of the year.
And maybe it’s just plain easier to be nice during a time we have more days off work or school, and we are getting presents and eating tasty foods.
While the changing of the seasons is constant, the company with whom we enjoy them is not. As each year passes, and beloved faces are more wrinkled and hair more sparse and grey, we wonder how much longer we will be able to relish this combination of loved ones.
Parents, children, aunts, uncles, the elders gather around the same table that has hosted them for years.
As each new holiday rolls around, places may be vacant, and hearts heavier and emptier for those absences.
Though some are missing, new babies have come along. New little children warm our hearts. And the changing of the seasons will continue on.
As you finish up the Thanksgiving leftovers this weekend, allow me to wish you an early Merry Christmas.
