Tommy, our love of Christmas is something that has bonded us in the past. Coincidentally, for the first time, I am not feeling blue or even gray, but definitely less Christmas-y this year. My family and I just returned from living in Greece for three months. I keep thinking how the magic was there, living in a way that kept us outdoors, kept us walking—everywhere, always uphill—kept us interacting with the locals. The magic of Christmas, that I always feel so strongly every year, has dissipated. Perhaps it's a blend of everything you've articulated so well here, and perhaps it's even more. I keep thinking of how passively I've always enjoyed Christmas—sitting around watching movies, sitting around drinking. I don't want to sit around so much anymore, unless it's in good conversation, or doing karaoke with my kids, or reading.
Also, this line really hit:
"not editing sentences that don’t make perfect sense because the energy is there"
...I'm going to carry this one with me. Sometimes editing gets in the way of the rawness of the moment, the flow, our voice.
And still, my Christmas spirit is certainly not gone. I saw your Thomas Kinkade picture at the top and thought, I want that, a huge on, on my wall. Merry Christmas. :)
Charlie, thank you for the thoughtful, warm note here. Most of this essay was written late at night and probably less hinged than it should have been, kinda reflecting some emotional turbulence in my life, and I've felt a little nauseous since publishing, worrying about upsetting people, worrying about what I'm putting into the world, worrying about being so negative, and since we've bonded over our love for Christmas over the years, you crossed my mind. So seeing your name pop up was a bit of gift in itself.
Thomas Kinkade is really something, especially his Christmas paintings. Merry Christmas Charlie (:
“The strangest part is that people still celebrate Christmas without believing any of it or caring to think why it exists and what exactly they’re doing when they celebrate it.”
Yes yes yes yes yes. I only do Christmas now to make my family happy, but I needed something to celebrate this season that made sense to me. (This might be why I don’t really understand the meaning of tradition, of family you only see once a year because you share some percentage of your genes.)
I’m not Christian, but I have taken to celebrating the Solstice, indicating the darkest night when I can reflect on the year and start planting seeds of intentions. That makes sense to me and gives me a reason to mark the season in a better way than buying things nobody needs just for the sake of buying things. Also, it saves the pretty lights for me. I think that it is in our humanity to illuminate the darkest night of the year, even if just for hope.
Having a Christmas focused on Christ teaches us to, once again, be in the world but not of the world!
I laughed reading this because of how extreme it came across at points but I honestly relate to your feelings. They are a balm and great reflections.
Those special moments of silent reverence and observation you detailed mean so much more to Him (and do more for our souls) than any expression of “love” to another through gift-giving could ever accomplish.
There’s fun to be had at Christmas for sure!! - but that’s not to overshadow or undermine the true Miracle. ✝️ be well !
Your points are well made. I highly recommend the Poem ‘Christmas’ by John Betjeman, and another by him called ‘Advent 1955’. It seems that even back then there was competition between the real Christmas story and the commercial interpretation.
For those looking to focus on more of the traditional I highly recommend checking YouTube for a concert called Christmas with my Friends by Nils Landgren - a real mixture of musical styles, ancient and modern. I think it may have more of the authentic spirit of Christmas.
I resonate deeply with this and a lot of what you said have crossed my own mind lately, especially working in retail. Next year, I'll be making things to gift people or simply spending quality time with them to show my appreciation instead.
So sad but true. However, celebrating with others will hopefully open up opportunities for me to share the true meaning of Christmas with those who do not believe in Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Let it be so!
I love this essay, Tommy! I can't say it mirrors my own feelings, which is completely ok, but I love how raw it feels. I'm an atheist who celebrates and enjoys Christmas. It would take a lot of writing to dish out how that makes sense to me, but suffice it to say that I have a deep appreciation for the things religion has brought to my life and to the world in general. I despair over the increasing materialism of Christmas, but I still delight in the idea of finding hope and the promise of life in the midst of a supposedly dark, cold, and lifeless season. I could say so much more, and maybe this will finally inspire me enough to sit down and write some stuff down like I keep telling myself I'm going to. Either way, thanks for sharing so many wonderful things with us. Merry Christmas!
Tommy, our love of Christmas is something that has bonded us in the past. Coincidentally, for the first time, I am not feeling blue or even gray, but definitely less Christmas-y this year. My family and I just returned from living in Greece for three months. I keep thinking how the magic was there, living in a way that kept us outdoors, kept us walking—everywhere, always uphill—kept us interacting with the locals. The magic of Christmas, that I always feel so strongly every year, has dissipated. Perhaps it's a blend of everything you've articulated so well here, and perhaps it's even more. I keep thinking of how passively I've always enjoyed Christmas—sitting around watching movies, sitting around drinking. I don't want to sit around so much anymore, unless it's in good conversation, or doing karaoke with my kids, or reading.
Also, this line really hit:
"not editing sentences that don’t make perfect sense because the energy is there"
...I'm going to carry this one with me. Sometimes editing gets in the way of the rawness of the moment, the flow, our voice.
And still, my Christmas spirit is certainly not gone. I saw your Thomas Kinkade picture at the top and thought, I want that, a huge on, on my wall. Merry Christmas. :)
Charlie, thank you for the thoughtful, warm note here. Most of this essay was written late at night and probably less hinged than it should have been, kinda reflecting some emotional turbulence in my life, and I've felt a little nauseous since publishing, worrying about upsetting people, worrying about what I'm putting into the world, worrying about being so negative, and since we've bonded over our love for Christmas over the years, you crossed my mind. So seeing your name pop up was a bit of gift in itself.
Thomas Kinkade is really something, especially his Christmas paintings. Merry Christmas Charlie (:
“The strangest part is that people still celebrate Christmas without believing any of it or caring to think why it exists and what exactly they’re doing when they celebrate it.”
Yes yes yes yes yes. I only do Christmas now to make my family happy, but I needed something to celebrate this season that made sense to me. (This might be why I don’t really understand the meaning of tradition, of family you only see once a year because you share some percentage of your genes.)
I’m not Christian, but I have taken to celebrating the Solstice, indicating the darkest night when I can reflect on the year and start planting seeds of intentions. That makes sense to me and gives me a reason to mark the season in a better way than buying things nobody needs just for the sake of buying things. Also, it saves the pretty lights for me. I think that it is in our humanity to illuminate the darkest night of the year, even if just for hope.
Having a Christmas focused on Christ teaches us to, once again, be in the world but not of the world!
I laughed reading this because of how extreme it came across at points but I honestly relate to your feelings. They are a balm and great reflections.
Those special moments of silent reverence and observation you detailed mean so much more to Him (and do more for our souls) than any expression of “love” to another through gift-giving could ever accomplish.
There’s fun to be had at Christmas for sure!! - but that’s not to overshadow or undermine the true Miracle. ✝️ be well !
Your points are well made. I highly recommend the Poem ‘Christmas’ by John Betjeman, and another by him called ‘Advent 1955’. It seems that even back then there was competition between the real Christmas story and the commercial interpretation.
For those looking to focus on more of the traditional I highly recommend checking YouTube for a concert called Christmas with my Friends by Nils Landgren - a real mixture of musical styles, ancient and modern. I think it may have more of the authentic spirit of Christmas.
Tommy so much shininess in here. I love your thought journeys.
“I can hardly remember what I got for Christmas last year. And I remember everything.”
You do remember everything 😊
I resonate deeply with this and a lot of what you said have crossed my own mind lately, especially working in retail. Next year, I'll be making things to gift people or simply spending quality time with them to show my appreciation instead.
this was. so. good. and something i have been thinking a lot about lately. thank you for sharing it in this exact form!
thanks Charlotte (:
So sad but true. However, celebrating with others will hopefully open up opportunities for me to share the true meaning of Christmas with those who do not believe in Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Let it be so!
Well said!
I love this essay, Tommy! I can't say it mirrors my own feelings, which is completely ok, but I love how raw it feels. I'm an atheist who celebrates and enjoys Christmas. It would take a lot of writing to dish out how that makes sense to me, but suffice it to say that I have a deep appreciation for the things religion has brought to my life and to the world in general. I despair over the increasing materialism of Christmas, but I still delight in the idea of finding hope and the promise of life in the midst of a supposedly dark, cold, and lifeless season. I could say so much more, and maybe this will finally inspire me enough to sit down and write some stuff down like I keep telling myself I'm going to. Either way, thanks for sharing so many wonderful things with us. Merry Christmas!