Five words to guarantee a merry Christmas
We can’t ignore the fact the Christmas season is in full swing!
For almost two months we’ve been flashed with tons of e-mails squawking about holiday sales on everything from food and kitchen appliances to fake Christmas trees and yard decorations.
We get inundated with sparkly catalogues hyping the urge to get new furniture (for holiday entertaining) and glossy pages advising us to consider getting new china for that holiday table and maybe even a new car (red or green of course).
We complain about the commercialism and materialism of the holidays, yet put us in our local Starbucks slurping a yummy Carmel Brûlée Latte from that festive red and green cup and we brim with excitement and anticipation about spending time with family and friends. Love is really what the holidays are all about.
Starting with Thanksgiving, a holiday that marks our gratitude, to Christmas with its message of peace, love and joy, it’s a magical time and love is behind it all. The five words to remember are:
Behind the magic is love
If we remember, as we move through this magical time of year, that behind the magic is love, then we won’t be lured into doing too much to get the magical feeling. We can get the feeling just by looking at the commercials for all the festive products. We don’t have to get the stuff to get the feeling.
Anyway, those commercials are created to arouse the child in us and that’s where the magic really begins. But beware, that part of you that still believes in Santa Clause, loves hot chocolate with marshmallows on top, twinkly lights, the aroma of a fresh Christmas tree and beautifully wrapped gifts is also that part of you that doesn’t have a mature concept of having or doing too much. That child within is a little “over-goaling machine.” Sort of like if you gave a 9-year-old a toy catalog and said, “Pick everything you want,” you’d need a semi to hold the load.
I wrote this poem about such a person.
I want a magazine Christmas
I want a magazine Christmas
With a tree in every room
I’ll hire a choir to sing on our porch
With a bazillion poinsettias in bloom
My gingerbread house will be perfect
And I’ll sew a Christmas dress
I’ll bake cookies and pies and make candy
And I won’t leave the kitchen a mess
I want a real live Nativity scene
Using kids from the neighborhood
We live by a farm so I’ll borrow a cow
And a duck and a lamb would be good
They’ll stand on our lawn in a spotlight
Each night for an hour or two
My kid is too old to play Jesus
So Joseph or Mary will do
I’ll make all the presents and Christmas cards
And the bows and the Christmas wrap, too
I’ll deck all the halls with the holly I’ll cut
From a tree that I found near the zoo
Our car will look just like the jolly old sleigh
I’ll paint it a Christmas red
The only thing missing on Christmas day
Will be me, because I’ll be dead.
Data by the Pew Research Cen-ter showed that 86 percent of Americans plan to attend a gathering of family or friends on Christ-mas Eve or Christmas Day; 86 percent plan to buy gifts for family and friends; 79 percent say they’ll put up a tree; 65 percent want to send holiday cards; and 16 percent hope to go Christmas caroling.
If love is behind the magic, and it really is, then as you go about the activities involved in Christ-mas gatherings and you remember it’s all about love, you’ll enjoy this season as it was meant to be enjoyed.
When you give gifts, remember love is behind them. When you get your tree and decorate it, remember love is behind it. When you send your Christmas cards, re-member love is behind them.
And, when you go Christmas caroling, remember love is behind it.
In the religion I was raised in, I was taught that God is love. If that’s true then God is behind it all. Nice to remember.
Merry Christmas!
For more from Pam Young go to cluborganized.com. You’ll find many musings, videos of Pam in the kitchen preparing delicious meals, videos on how to get organized, lose weight and get your finances in order, all from a reformed SLOB’s point of view.
