As I sit down to write about Christmas, as I do at this time every year, it occurs to me that my Christmas as a celebration is gradually changing.
As a child, it was about the Nativity scene, about singing carols, the delicious aromas in the kitchen where Mum was cooking turkey and mince pies. About making presents for the family and opening presents for myself.
As a mother it was about filling the stockings, dressing the children up as angels and shepherds for the school pageant, and cooking the turkey and mince pies. Writing cards, putting up decorations, attending school pageants – and a thousand other things
By the time the children were adults, Christmas seemed to have become a lot more commercialised, bombarded by non-stop ads for various merchandise, whose panic strategies make you feel uncomfortable if you haven’t ordered your turkey yet or wrapped your presents by the beginning of december.
A wave of stress overcomes many households in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Is this what it’s all about? So much for the peace we wish each other. We’re often tearing our hair out trying to keep up with a punishing schedule.
But it’s self-inflicted. Nobody is holding a gun to our heads saying this is how you must celebrate. ‘Tidings of comfort and joy’ should describe our lifestyle and not just be a message in the cards we send out.
These days, I’m trying to simplify Christmas in our home and make it a celebration of peacefulness and joy. I’ll try not to get swept along with the TV ads or the shopping centre signs urging us to show our loved ones how much we love them by spending vast amounts of money on gadgets, etc that we don’t need.
How much better to give our loved ones this message – turn off life’s distractions, take a deep breath, and relax. Listen to your favourite version of Silent Night and reflect on how lucky we are to have loved ones. And spare a thought for those who do not.
Happy Christmas to all our puzzlers and their loved ones.
