There are 333 days until next Christmas. And while you’re probably still feeling a bit of residual glow from the 25th, my guess is that some holiday decorations are already taken down, most of the presents are unwrapped and you’re digging through leftovers.
My friends and I talked a lot about the build-up and let-down before and after Christmas throughout December. In the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day there is more than a twinkle on the Christmas tree; people become softer, gentle, full of curiosity and joy. The world, even in all of its horrors, becomes magical and we all work with great anticipation for what becomes a few hours of rustling paper and dining together.
And then, just like that, the magic is gone. We go back to work. We run our errands. We hit up more sales. We make sure that homework is completed, that the bathrooms are clean and that our calendars are filled up.
I ghost-write for a man who is dying from pancreatic cancer. In our weekly meeting right before Christmas he noted the pleasant change in humankind in the days building up to Christmas. When I told him that my friends and I had been talking about it, he asked if we came to a conclusion as to why it this time was so enchanted.
We hadn’t. Is it because we’re all looking forward to the presents we will receive? Are we excited to spend time with family and friends? Do we like that we get off work for a couple days? Are we excited about a man who comes in a sleigh to drop off presents overnight?
That seems like the simple answer to me. But we get presents for our birthdays, we also usually spend time with family or friends then, and there are other holidays when we get off work. Still, the joy during those times is different.
When he asked that question, though, I told him that I think it’s because we have this day where we are all expected to give together.
Some people buy present upon present for those they love; and even if they are trying to spend a small amount of money, they are thinking about what that person may like to receive. Some people deliver food to those in need in hopes that they may have nourishment that will sustain them. Some people call their mother who they would love to be with, but can’t be with this year. Some people drive many miles to give time to their family or friends. Some people send out cards to catch-up with those they haven’t talked to in a year.
In this collective moment of giving, we peel away our opinions and our judgments, our grudges and our hurts to give. It’s not about what is under the tree as much as it is in seeing that person we love fill up with joy, knowing that someone thought about them. In that, in seeing that person’s cup filled with our love, we receive more than any package can hold.
I believe that the world becomes this magical place, that people become soft because during the Christmas season we love in the way we were built to love. Love is more than some emotion that draws us into another; it is a verb, an act. That act is patient and kind. It is not self-seeking and holds no records of wrongs. It protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.
And while we, as a collective being, may display that towards certain individuals throughout the year, we also get caught up in what’s for dinner, who needs to go to practice and how to make more money so that we can have and do more things. But for Christmas, for one day the world stops so that we can collectively give to one another.
Do I think the Christmas spirit can live throughout the whole year? Yes. But like all things that are consistent, the act of loving as a collective being might also become mundane. I, on the other hand, live in a mind where the more acts of love I see and do, the more magical the world becomes. So, if you want, you could join me….?
