The Magic of Christmas

Christmas. Does it get better with time? Christmas is one of those days that gets tougher to celebrate as you get older. Just like birthdays, I guess, but Christmas comes with its own set of challenges. When I was a kid, Christmas was simple. It was one of the few occasions per year when you get presents. People decorated their houses, put up nice lights, and get together for festive meals. There’s special programming on TV, Christmas music on the radio, and malls are packed with people.

Then, as you get older, reality starts to set in, and your perspective starts to shift. It’s like life is slowly peeling away the secrets of how your favourite magic trick is done. It starts when you discover that Santa isn’t real. Then, you are introduced to the guilt that comes with realizing that Christmas should be really more about giving than receiving. Or, if you’re Catholic, you are bombarded with the yearly sermon about how Christmas has become over-commercialized. Christmas should be about Jesus, the priest would say. Then, as you get even older, you realize, the holiday you once thought was universal, isn’t really universal at all. I mean, we all get the time-off from school and/or work, but not everyone celebrates Christmas. People celebrate different holidays, and in different ways, this time of year. Some, maybe, don’t celebrate at all, and it’s just another day.

And I found, as an adult, Christmas has become less about presents, and more about who you spend the time with. As a young adult, I was obssessed with being able to spend Christmas with the perfect girlfriend. As an older adult, it becomes a dilemma - do you spend your Christmas with your own family, the in-laws, with your friends, with only your significant other, by yourself, or are you one of those people who try to squeeze in everyone within a short amount of time? It even gets political when your attempt to find time for everyone fails and people get offended that you didn’t spend Christmas with them, or that you attended one party over another. Once you reach middle age, however, Christmas becomes a time when you start to appreciate that the special people in your life are still alive one more year to get together with for the holidays.

Tired of reading yet? Well, don’t worry, the rant is almost over. The holidays can get really stressful, for sure, but I don’t want to leave this rant on a melancholy note so let me just say that there is hope. If you’re one of the lucky ones with a kid in your life, whether it’s your kid, grandkid, niece or nephew, or just a friend’s kid, then there is a way to get back some of the magic of the holidays that have erroded through the years. I find, the best way to relive the magic of Christmas is to see it through the eyes of a child. That sparkle in their eyes when they see Christmas lights for the first time, or the joy of receiving a new toy, or just being in a party with people you only seem to see once a year, kind of brings it all back for me. It’s like seeing the holidays with fresh eyes again, and it reminds me why it was magical in the first place. So whatever you celebrate, I hope you find peace, solace, happiness during this time of year. And if you’re like me, whose perspective of the holidays has transformed a lot through many years, I hope you find a way to relive the magic. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!