I love my Father in Heaven, the Lord, Jesus Christ.  I love church.   I love gold, silver, green and red (are my favorite colors) and I love everything shiny.  I love the fall weather; maybe because I was born in October.  I love shopping and wrapping gifts; and I am drawn to my local Hallmark store because I adore the Christmas scent that lingers throughout the year.  I love making big dinners and I LOVE cookies.  I love the smell of Christmas; the pine, cinnamon and spice.  I am prone to listening to Christmas music all year long and if you ask me what color sweater or bathing suit I want, I say “red”!  I have to admit that I will definitely be playing that new Michael Buble Christmas CD all year long for sure.  I love the trees and Oh my goodness — I LOVE decorating and sparkling lights.   But is all that I love the spirit of Christmas?  One friend recently said the SPIRIT is Jesus.  Christmas is a blessed holiday and the season is full of love and miracles… that MUST be what it is.

People are nicer and more generous at Christmas and no one wants to share ‘bad news’; in fact, just after Thanksgiving people are “jolly”.  Everyone wants to visit and receive visitors; they clean their home and deck the halls.   We all look for sales but we shop like crazy and we all cheat on our diets just a little.  Most of us put the mundane items from our “to do” list on the January list so we can focus on the Christmas tasks.   I think that’s why I want to start decorating as soon as fall approaches (heck, I am ready in July when I start my Christmas notes)… I just want to bring Christmas in sooner so it can last longer.  Someone recently told me that he was excited for Christmas but was sad that it will be over soon.   So… I want to know what we can do to keep the excitement, to keep the Christmas Spirit all year long.

For some Christmas is not a special time and when they know the holidays are approaching, it saddens them.  Whether you went through a divorce, suffered a loss, lost your job or suffered any tragedy… you may not feel that you should be entitled to celebrate in a large way or you are just too depressed to get there.  The Christmas season is the most likely time of the year to be depressed.  The suicide rate is higher during the holidays, and that is not to be taken lightly.  I can only suggest that if you feel depressed, reach out to someone, volunteer, call friends, visit, go out window shopping, meet a friend for lunch… just don’t be alone during the holidays.   I am not a therapist, but I am a nurse and I have seen people in a funked mood; likewise, I lost both my parents by age 13 and lost my partner, my husband just six years ago…so, I can relate to not wanting to do a darn thing.   But for me, I KNOW that my parents and my husband would want me to love Christmas and share that feeling with my kids and grandchildren.  To teach them about joy and love, I must hold  it.  The truth is that it’s the sad things that make you remember what’s really important… it makes us think and take inventory of our lives.  We all can agree that a life unevaluated isn’t worth living; we owe it to ourselves to live well and to uphold the “Christmas Spirit”.

Stay Merry –