catholicsphere

In most homes, Christmas is a magical time, as children await Santa’s arrival on Christmas Eve, and awaken to presents under the tree on Christmas morning. As we grow into adulthood, we seem to lose that sense of magic, as we leave behind belief in Santa and focus on more “adult” things. Each year, however, there are many who try to re-capture the “feeling of Christmas” that they remember having as kids; harkening back to a simpler time, without all the hustle and bustle of work and other responsibilities.

This yearning is captured in TV commercials that paint wonderful stores of gift-giving and receiving, in extravagance and fairy-tale settings. One such commercial shows a couple sitting in front of a roaring fire in a large, stone fireplace, as the snow falls and piles up outside. They are sipping their drinks, talking, smiling and laughing. Then, appears a small box; a gift from the man to the woman. She opens the box to reveal a stunning (and quite large) diamond ring (you know, the kind that has a price tag as big as 6 months - 1 year of a normal person’s salary). Or, perhaps its the other commercial, where it contains the key to brand new (insert luxury car of your choice here).

No matter the gift, the picture is a very rare one in the world, but it creates the illusion of the perfect time and place that we vaguely remember, and perhaps in reality was not nearly so rosy as the one that exists in our memory. It was a time of anticipation, as we awaited the joy of Christmas morning.

But, if we really thought about it … that joy we experienced faded sooner and sooner each year, after the presents were unwrapped, our favorite toy broke, or we grew tired of it.

Yet, there is a way to recapture that Christmas joy, and keep it all year long ….

(to be continued tomorrow and over the next few days, leading up to Christmas.)