Christmas Chronicle

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Christmas
spirit- dead or alive?


Snowflakes tingling down in the dark winter’s night, ginger cookies and sparkling Christmas trees are all precious symbols to me, during the biggest holiday of the year. People shopping for gifts, preparing the great Christmas supper and listening to Bing Crosby. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps, the lovely kind.

For some people these symbols have no value at all. The feelings that surrounds the symbols seem dead and hidden deep in the closet, where the risk of finding them is rather small.
Have we lost the Christmas spirit? Is it thawing away in the same speed as new fallen snow?

Stressful Christmas
When I was little, there was nothing like Christmas at all. It began in school, sometime in the beginning of December, when our teacher read a chapter of the children’s bible every morning, and told us the story about the birth of Jesus. We had lit candles on our desks, listening to enthralling stories with all the expectations about the coming holiday in our heads. It was a time of joy and happiness that was coming towards all of us, by leaps and bounds.

But today it seems as if all of those wondrous feelings and expectations have lost its colours. Stores start to advertise much sooner every year, people decorate their houses in November and everyone seems to be so stressed about everything involving Christmas. It’s like we’re chasing it. The emotions that surrounds everything that has to do with Christmas has just disappeared. We’re shopping for gifts just because it has to be that way, not because we like to give presents to the ones we love.

When I yesterday was out doing my finishing Christmas shopping, I found myself in a complete mess of people, all elbowing their way through the queues, trying to find that special gift. When the gift had been paid for, the race between the stores began. With twelve bags in each hand and confusing eyes roaming around, the shoppers tried to make headway through the horde of people. Quite a funny spectacle to witness, if I may say so!
A total hysteria, which I don’t connect Christmas to be about. But it all seems to be that way nowadays. Stressing to get it all over with, though it’s one of the nicest holidays of the year. That’s an equation that I can’t solve!

Great expectations?
But why are we so stressed about Christmas then? Is it the expectations about the presents, the food or something else? Is it because people feel that this holiday has become a commercial holiday?
Do we celebrate Christmas just because we must?
Many questions is circling in my traditional and conservative head!
I think that we must loosen up a bit, and don’t take it so serious on the expectation part! Nothing bad will happen just because you didn’t make enough meatballs, or if you never found that sweater to you brother that he so desperately wanted. It’s OK to “screw up” sometimes, we’re all humans, and we surely make mistakes. Now, it’s time to let ourselves make those mistakes, without ending up hating ourselves for it. Skip the bad conscience!
Quality time with loved ones
A good way of trying to forget all the commercial nonsense is to enjoy the lovely weather and the outdoor activities that we have during the cold and snowy part of the year. Take your family and friends out in the fresh air and do something together. Build a snowman as large as you house, go skating or divide the ...