It has been a while since I have been really excited about Christmas. I know the reason(s) behind this lackadaisical attitude which means I should be able to work on them but that does not always go so well. While people around me are shopping, or decorating their houses, yours truly is more like Ebenezer Scrooge - visited by more ghosts than just the ones of Christmas.
Eventually, the week before, I come around. I may not be excited about "holiday trees", and exchanging gifts anymore, but am reminded of why Christmas matters. And yes, it is NOT the actual day that Jesus was born, but it is the day chosen to observe it. And for those of us who still believe . . . it is Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
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My favorite holiday movies this time of year: Miracle on 34th Street (the old one with Natalie Wood). And The Lion In Winter. The latter perhaps is not a holiday film per se, but the story does take place around that time, and the royal family is so dysfunctional, it makes ours look a little better. Plus it has Peter O'Toole, Katherine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins in his film debut. One of the roles for which O'Toole should have won an Oscar.
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One year, when we were in Lahore, we received the gift of two advent calendars. One was a more secular one (if memory serves correctly it was a darker royal blue with snow and a snowman), the other more religious. My mother set them on a table with other Christmas decorations, some which had come with us from our time in Minnesota. From the first day of advent for the next twenty-five days or so, we opened a window marked with a number, and each window revealed a wee bit of the image behind them. I remember looking forward to opening one each day. It was almost like a puzzle. It was tempting to open all the windows at once, but that would have defeated the purpose, as well as the anticipation.
It is that child-like anticipation that I think about reclaiming, that commercialization and personal struggles have changed. And it is not too late. Even at the eleventh hour, one is welcome.
For those of you who celebrate this season, a blessed Advent and Nativity. My way of returning to the Advent calendar will be to post something pertaining to the season for the next twentysomething days. It can be anything from A Charlie Brown Christmas to the Gospels. My other rants shall continue, which I will try to do less of, but why change completely?!
