On the Magic and Meaning of Christmas

It’s that time of year again. Time for all the grinches to come out grumbling.

“Argh…don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s ridiculous!”

“Off with you and your ‘Christmas Cheer’!”

“Pffgh, Christmas…. It’s just another consumer holiday!”

There truly is a war on Christmas. But it’s not the one you think. It’s the one where all the grinches come out to lament on the “superficiality” and “consumerism” of the holiday. Where those same Grinches ensure they express their disdain for all who exhibit any semblance of Christmas cheer—especially if it’s before their Grinch-defined specified cut-off date. (For it is, of course, utterly acceptable for anyone to get into Christmas spirit and enjoy the season short of that day.)

And, for these Christmas Grinches, anyone who doesn’t follow their explicit rules of Christmas celebration is at best severely annoying and at worst a sheep to the marketing of a fake and superficial “consumer holiday.” For them, there exist specific guidelines on the manner in which Christmas should be celebrated and approached. And, like the Grinch himself, they do not stop until they manage to kill all manner of joy and meaning for everyone around them.

But these Grinches are confused and deprived—they are missing out on something truly special. Their contention reflects a lack of appreciation for what the magic of Christmas truly is and a lack of understanding its true meaning.

Christmas is a time when decorated and lighted houses are imagined by children as fairy tale homes. Where miniature villages are built from a dream of a euphoric and benevolent society played out. And where houses smell of pine, ribbon, and candles, and look like an evergreen wintery wonderland. 

It is a time for gathering—even if only with a few who matter the most—and enjoying together baked goodness, warm holiday drinks, sweet spices, and feasts. A time for parents to spread the love and joy of the holiday to their children and to show them the value and true meaning of the season. Most of all, to let them enjoy being children. And it is a time when most of us are just a little nicer to each other—or at least a little more patient.

While some may disagree on the specific details of the season, most all agree on the general spirit of Christmas. Regardless of a person’s religious beliefs or lack thereof, most can agree that the Christmas season has a spirit common for all. 

Does Christmas celebrate the birth of Christ? For many, of course, that is at its core. For others it is at best a side note. And still others have no belief of that nature whatsoever, and still partake in the holiday. That, in and of itself, is quite remarkable. Christmas is a holiday that brings together people of all backgrounds and beliefs.

Throughout the world, in so many winter rituals and holidays amongst various religions and cultures, the theme has been the same: rebirth, remembrance, gratitude, love, and devotion to family or tribe and society. Whether that theme is celebrated within a holiday we call “Christmas” and in the name of an incarnation of God or in a Pagan rite that reveres and honors the strength of an evergreen tree to thrive throughout the winter is truly inconsequential to the overall meaning.

Christmas is truly magical. The lore and myths around Santa Claus, the elves, reindeer, and the North Pole are all filled with fun and innocence. One only has to have children who believe to see the magic and joy in these myths. And for grown-ups, there is another kind of magic altogether in leaving behind the seriousness and stress of everyday life and delving into the purity of the lore, where an oft-lost innocence is remembered and celebrated. It’s the kind of innocence where a joyful man with a red coat watches over and rewards us with special gifts if we’ve been a good person throughout the year, and where the same man does no more than leave us a piece of coal if we have not…to gently relay that we just might need to reassess our actions and behavior.

The magic of Christmas can be found in a steaming cup of hot chocolate sipped on a cold wintery day, bundled in the cozy warmth of home. It can be found in the comfort of warm clothes while the briskness of winter whips at cheeks bitten by frosty air. It can be found in the smell and feel of the cool dormancy of winter woods, and in the joy and laughter in children as they play, shop for their favorite toys, eat their favorite treats and watch their favorite Christmas shows—enjoying the time they have as children without ever even knowing just how precious that time is. And, it can be found in gatherings with family and friends who we just don’t see often enough but somehow manage to make time for at least once a year; and in the rekindling of love, promises, and commitments we make that tend to be lost in the disarray and chaos of real life.

The meaning in Christmas is that it reminds us of all that we hold good about humanity….

To cherish family, to be thankful for what we have in all aspects of our lives, to be kind and compassionate to those who may not have the same. To give to those we love and those less fortunate and to show kindness and gratitude when others give to us. To recognize our own fortune when we are able to enjoy the safety of warmth and shelter from the winter cold and the satisfying comfort of nutritious food, and to resolve to help those who are not so lucky. To determine to act toward humanity from a standpoint of compassion and understanding, and remember that a purposeful life is not found in the statuses we seek or the money we may desire but in something higher—something that is up to each one of us to define for ourselves.

At Christmas, we throw aside the daily grind we find ourselves wound up in throughout the year and remember that love, kindness, and joyfulness are what most all of us seek. As different as we all may seem, we are woven from a common thread—and we can all do better in helping to weave ourselves together just a little bit tighter.

And so, my Grinches: that is the magic and meaning of Christmas.

As for myself, I beg no forgiveness in expressing my excitement and joy in celebrating Christmas as early and thoroughly as I possibly can. For your part…well, you’ll just have to give in or scurry your way back to your cave to console yourself with more grumblings because I, for one, won’t be having it.

MERRRRY CHRISTMASSSSS!!!