What Christmas Means To Me: 2015

Several weeks ago, I was asked by a fellow author what Christmas means to me.  I’ve been pondering that question ever since.

At first, I was sure that the meaning, the feeling of Christmas changed as I aged, but the more I thought about it and examined my memories of Christmases past, I realized that it had remained the same.

When I was a child, Christmas was about the birth of Jesus, Santa, presents and family.  I remember playing with the stuffed Christmas elves and reindeer (think Elf on a Shelf).  I remember midnight mass with the lights and music.  The cold car seats of a December in Indiana.  The warm, full family breakfast at my aunt’s house and loads of presents. 

As I reached my teen and college years Christmas was still about the birth of Jesus, presents, and family but that was in the background.  At the front of my priority list was the break from school and homework.  Going out with friends.  The hectic days and nights of working retail.  I remember the Christmas luncheon at K-mart on Christmas Eve.  The camaraderie with my co-workers.  The struggle to find gifts for my friends and family. 

After college, Christmas was still about family, but this time the gifts were for the kids.  It was about making sure that they had a great day and doing the best that we could to keep the magic alive.  The joy and surprise in a child’s eye on Christmas morning is extraordinary, perhaps because it is so fleeting.

Now, Christmas is still for the kids (another generation), family and the birth of Jesus.  After reading this you could say that the meaning of Christmas, for me, has shifted with every stage in my life and that I have I come full circle.  I have to disagree.

I don’t think we ever come full circle.  To do that would imply that we’re on the same path as before.  Life is not cyclic by a spiral.  I have passed where I started, looking back at who I was.  I am no longer that child eagerly waiting for Santa nor the teen or young adult but I have vague memories of who I was.

When I looked deeper than the surface memories of past Christmases into the feeling of the holiday I discovered they were really about comfort and peace.  Being accepted by those around you.  Being a part of something bigger.  Being safe.  Being loved. 

As a child I was loved and loved my family.  I was safe with them.  As a teen I loved my family and my friends.  I did what I could to make them all happy.  As a young guardian to children, I was trying to create a warm and safe home for the kids. 

Now, as I sit in my living room, surrounded by the innocent animals who were abandoned and abused, I am content that I can offer them a home.  A place where they can sleep warm and safe.  Unafraid of hunger, loneliness and pain.  Content in the knowledge that whatever the next day will bring, it will not be bad.

So, for me Christmas is a time of reflecting on the peace in your life.  The peace that you create and share with others.

Merry Christmas to everyone.