Hold on to Christmas spirit
If it’s been a little more difficult this year to embrace the Christmas spirit, you’re not alone.
National and international headlines seem to flash more bad news than good, and perhaps that’s always been the case. But the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 elementary school children and six school teachers and administrators in Newtown, Conn. went far beyond the definition of bad news. The tragedy has left a pall over this nation; we are all still grieving those lives taken too soon.
Just a few weeks before that, Hurricane Sandy and its accompanying superstorm left a devastating wake of destruction and 100 deaths on the East Coast.
On the international front, our soldiers are still in harm’s way in Afghanistan, and all eyes are on Syria as a civil war continues to escalate.
“Peace on Earth” and “Good Will Toward Men,” those perennial Christmas sentiments, seem so far away right now.
But we don’t need to give in to gloominess during this season of light. Just as the miracle of “the star in the east” set the stage for the very first Christmas, there are miracles all around us if we choose to see beyond the woes of this mortal world.
People here in the Flathead are genuine givers. We see that day after day as communities rally for those in need, giving of their time and money to make the lives of the less fortunate a little brighter. United Way publishes a “Hope for the Holidays” booklet each year that offers myriad ways in which we can help others. From giving trees for children to food-bank donations or “adopting” a needy family for Christmas, there’s something all of us could do to help. And, as United Way reminds us, being a volunteer “makes Christmas last all year.”
Finding the Christmas spirit can be as simple as delivering a tin of cookies to a neighbor, or dropping a few extra dollars into the Salvation Army’s red kettles. The Christmas spirit is not as elusive as we think. In truth, it’s all around us every day of the year.
Accidents and tragedies and natural disasters can befall any of us and our loved ones — that’s the nature of the tenuousness of life. But that’s not a reason to back away from life; it’s a reason to embrace life. It is the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedies of the world that make us realize that life is short, and precious, and unpredictable.
This Christmas let’s all hug our loved ones a little tighter. Let’s be kinder to one another. Let’s love one another and sing about peace on Earth. Let us all have a very merry Christmas.