Holi-Daze

The Holiday Season (or ‘Festive Season’ as I’ve learned the modern Scots call it) is seen by many as a time for reflection as the current year comes to an end. This seems especially true as a person gets older.

I haven’t always thought about the season in that way. I used to give in to the stress of the holidays that many of us feel: calendar adjustments, gift making or shopping, meals to be planned and desserts to be baked, cards to mail – don’t forget Aunt Clara who always makes such nice gifts, and definitely get the Christmas decorations up.

For me there was always the added stress brought on by three of my five children having birthdays in November, and Lisa, my brother. my dad and my birthdays in December. So many of the years seemed like I was simply trying to survive to January 1st.

Now that I’m older and have achieved empty-nester status, all of that has definitely changed. The Holi-Daze still starts at Halloween like it always has and rolls through birthdays and holidays until finally finishing on New Year’s Day. But now it’s a time I look forward to.

Now I see it as a time to have one-on-one dinners with my kids to celebrate their birthdays. Lisa and I have a nice, quiet evening at one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate our birthdays. There’s definitely a day of quiet thoughts about my dad, who passed away much too young. Our Thanksgiving dinners inch ever-closer to twenty people coming together when our kids, their spouses and our grandkids all come to spend time together – I definitely give thanks for this special moment in time. Our celebration of Christmas has become our “Christmas Pie Night,” which is a lower-key gathering of family where we eat too many sugary treats, exchange gifts and sip on hot chocolate expertly crafted by Lisa.

One thing that I probably owe to my Midwestern upbringing though, and a lesson I’ve never forgotten, even in those stressful years with all the young kids, is that there is a much bigger reason to celebrate during the Holiday Season. Have I always kept it at the forefront? No, definitely not. But each year I try to bring the birth of Our Savior more to light, at least in my own heart. It definitely helps to keep the stress at bay.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

– Luke 2:9-20