Why I Love Christmas

I know that with the consumerist way our society has come to understand Christmas, many of you have a difficult time with the winter holiday season.  Also, the word, "christmas," carries with it certain connotations that those of us who are not Christian find uncomfortable and unrelatable.  Many of you know also, that I love the winter holiday season - the Yuletide.

As we embark upon the season, I wanted to post a note that will merely touch upon the many reasons why I love this time of year.
The heart of the matter for me is this:  That this is the one time of year where the things that actually MAKE LIFE WORTH LIVING are allowed to be openly celebrated:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Fellowship
• Light
• Merrymaking
• Wassail
• Charity
• Giving
• Sharing

Do these messages become obscured and prostituted by commercialism?  Absolutely.  But for my part I don't see these themes being celebrated enough year round.  It seems it's easier in our society to say "I hate you" than "I love you."  It's a little easier around the holidays to be loving, to be charitable, to be giving... and not be seen as mushy, flaky-flighty, or weird.

Again, to me, these are THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS we've got, folks.  I love that we get to truly celebrate these ideas around the winter holidays.  And if you take a look at the history of "Christmas," you'll find such a vast and diverse amount of traditions dating back thousands of years and spanning the globe... and yes, predating Jesus.  Christmas is a word with origins from a specific time and place - like so many that we have in the English language - it doesn't have to apply to the way that we celebrate at this time.  We don't even have to use it.  People have been celebrating these concepts all over the world for a very long time - they're worth celebrating because they are the reason for living!

So I say - let's keep celebrating love, peace, fellowship, joy, and light at the Winter Solstice or Yuletide because it's important and wonderful.  We can keep the traditions in our own ways because we want to and choose to.  If you don't like consumerism and you don't like the word "Christmas," don't use them.  They have no part in the holiday if you don't want them to anyway.  But sing and give and laugh and eat and share joy with your family... that's the stuff!

Finally I leave you with this... an article from 1903 to an 8-year-old girl in New York City who had the sense to write to the New York Sun, asking if Santa Claus is real.  The answer of course is Yes!   Yes, Virginia

With Much Love to All as we embark on the Yuletide!
Kelly