(photo from Google Images)
December First
(a few days late)
So begins my love-hate relationship with the holiday season.
I absolutely LOVE the romantic notion of Christmas: Old English Christmas music, fire in the fireplace, little white lights everywhere, greenery, hot cocoa (with a bit of Baileys), baking, creating handmade gifts, candles, smells, family (in small doses), the Nativity, Hallmark Christmas movies.....Oh, and snow - all month, with icicles hanging from the eaves....I am sure that I am forgetting something but you can get an idea, right?
What I hate is the hype, which seems to be starting earlier and earlier every year. Why should one holiday dictate what I have to buy, or that I even need to buy anyone anything? Personally I like the idea of giving gifts whenever you want, especially out-of-the-blue when it is not expected. Those are the best and seem to mean the most.
Second I hate that I very seldom get my "white" Christmas. I have friends that say, "If you want white go to the mountains." Ba Humbug! It is part of my cozy, along with the warmth of a fire. Who can argue with the beauty of snow and cold and colorful lights and....and....and....
I have found that if I stay home and don't shop I can stay perfectly "content" with my choice of simplicity, it is when I run into a store for something that I have to keep my "needs and wants" in check.
Christmas is a beautiful time of year when it is all kept in perspective. Joy and peace and hope, words that we find on cards, in songs and decorations, can really only be found in one place....rather, one person...God, through his son, Jesus Christ.
Please remember this as you go about the days leading up to December 25th.
