HOLIDAY FUN     HOLIDAY FUN     HOLIDAY FUN...

    
  

Why Participate in the Flurry?

  
A flurry of snowflakes...

When the snow first begins to fall where I live in the mountains at the 45th Parallel (that’s in October), I begin to think of Christmas. ...After living all my life in the lower Pacific region of the United States, I now actually have real snow for it!

Christmas happens to be my winter tradition - though I grew up amidst tandem Christmas and Hanukkah celebratory themes, sometimes mixed in the same household of friends or neighbors. (And though my first Christmases were spent in the tropics!)

In any case, one soon, as a child in a Christmas-celebrating household and neighborhood, realizes that there are myriad ways to celebrate it! Your own family's brand of holiday fun is likely to differ somewhat, if not substantially, from neighboring families', often distant relatives' as well. And as one grows, perhaps some of the other ways - out of appreciation for the charm of so many traditions - are absorbed into one’s own.

But also as one ages, the charm might fade - or at least, our appreciation of traditional activities might well become more passive than active. Might even turn to "Bah!..."

Not to mention that when one isn’t a child, it may become a lot of work to keep to the traditions. Receiving greeting cards may be nice (though we may sneer at the ones merely lettered in gold "The So-and-So Family" - gee, they didn’t even take the time to jot a note!)... But sending them can be expensive and laborious (gosh, if only we didn’t have to take the time to write on every one!). Planning and putting on a party is a lot of work - and then you have to clean up, too! Gift-giving can be a significant strain on the budget, and it’s a pain to always have to keep coming up with new ideas... And it takes forever to wrap them... It all devolves onto you... And everyone has so much anyway...

The child that expects holiday fun when winter approaches may sadly (or grumpily!) turn into something of a Christmas curmudgeon.

Why participate indeed? When your family drives you crazy, when those around you are blasé, when you feel like you can’t afford the time or the money... When you feel like you have to more than you want to.

Not that I’m in any position to tell you what you ought to feel or do... But here are some reasons that come to me...

  • Fellowship: "Dictionarily-speaking", fellowship is companionship; a community of interest; sharing. ...All of interest to most people at various times - usually, with people of their particular choosing.

But in this special season that is for many a reminder of that which is behind fellowship - a desire to have a heart that’s free of negative feelings toward others, to encompass them in our outlook, to meld - our enjoyment of fellowship may be broadened to include situations or people we wouldn’t ordinarily take much pleasure in. A mellow feeling of having overcome even a natural aversion to being in company - or to someone in particular - is often a benefit of holiday season fellowship! ...Yes, we do have it in us to step aside from our selves and simply enjoy our fellow woman and man. And doing so can feel pretty good.

  • Expressing appreciation of people: And amid the bustle of being around strangers or even the fellowship of acquaintances, how much more do we realize we appreciate those who we truly value in the particular! And wish to show them so... Which is surely the basis for all the seasonal card-sending, feting, and gift-giving (no, the basis really isn’t commercial - that’s an afterthought). And of course, the pleasure of a gift known to be pleasurably received is a bonus!
  • Being a part of something: This is apart from fellowship (a meeting up with people around you). And though there’s enjoyment to be had, for some, in joining with others in a common cause, there’s something more basic to meeting enjoyably in a communal setting... It’s a feeling of being integral to a whole.

You get it when you do anything in true concord with others - singing in harmony, helping in any number of ways to put on a play, working on a common project, making a meeting go smoothly, even just brainstorming! And though I make it sound like there are vast numbers of such opportunities abounding in our lives, there may not be for some people; and even when they appear, we may not take advantage of them. This is where that holiday season bonhomie comes into play again... Out of a heightened awareness of our common humanity, we may choose to create or take advantage of such occasions - and reap the benefits.

  • A sense of renewal: There’s a sense of renewal inherent in preparing for a yearly event - traditions are a sort of ritualized renewal (even if we don’t think consciously about it). At the end of the calendar year, we might be giving thought to the year past (and maybe to what New Year’s resolutions we ought to be developing). I think that the Western Hemisphere’s "dark of the year" also is a powerful catalyst for metaphors of death, genesis, and rebirth. I know that the lightening of the days is, for me, a great inspiration. And, of course, there are religious traditions of renewal and rejuvenation that are extremely meaningful to many people at this time of the year.

In a very real way, too, any heightened awareness of and interest in people brings us a chance for renewal. ...Renewal or deepening of acquaintances (taking them to a new level); a renaissance in our outlook on life; reestablishment of our desire and resolve to relate to family, friends, co-workers, strangers in a way that we find more comfortable or estimable.
  

Whatever level of participation is yours in Christmastime "holiday-making", there’s the potential for some real benefits to the spirit. It’s a time when two interesting (perhaps unusual) beneficial forces tend to be at work: a relaxation of the cares of everyday life, and a heightened consciousness of one’s own position in the overall scheme of things as thoughts turn toward "peace on earth, goodwill toward men".

Okay, I know that cares don’t really disappear at Christmastime! And that for some people, it’s a time that actually signals greater stress or depression; and I don’t pretend to have the cures for that very personal sort of affliction. But I do think that sensitively embracing those people in some way during what may be for them a time of trial may be at least a partial antidote.

The chances are good that as you touch those about you "in the Christmas spirit", as it’s often said, you’ll lift up someone else along the way. (Maybe even those who you aren’t particularly excited about coming into contact with...)

Rekindling embers, maybe... for others and for yourself.

  

Somehow, not only for Christmas
    But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
    Is the joy that comes back to you.

John Greenleaf Whittier

  

 

 

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