My favorite part of Christmas is the fact that for one day, the whole universe conspires to make everything propitious for all the things that never seem to go right throughout the year. The miracle is that the people you barely hear from, friends who are perpetually aloof, kids who are too loud (or too timid), parents who are too grumpy, all of them suddenly have a new spring in their steps and a new smile on their faces. Kind words and good cheers are found everywhere, and places that are often too unwelcoming suddenly become warm and inviting. What with this genial air full of love and happiness, it’s simply impossible not to be overwhelmed with a kind of gratitude that sparks the urge to be extra nice to others as well.
And it makes you want to be with people you love.
Extremely mundane things like good food in the company of family and friends, new books, old films being aired in the TV, ham, hot chocolate, or other tiny commonplace happenings may seem so trivial individually, but when placed together in this special day just becomes inexplicably ethereal. Christmas is like Miranda Kerr or Olivia Palermo - everything one puts onto them instantly becomes elegant and beautiful. But unlike beautiful models and actresses, Christmas doesn’t come with the reticence to eat the fattiest food. It’s the perfect alibi to do all the things we normally wouldn’t allow ourselves to be - be nice to people we don’t like too much, smile even if we don’t feel like it, throw parties and invite everyone, be merry and be foolish, and not care about things that have been bugging us the whole year.
This ‘spirit’ of Christmas we hear so much about maybe isn’t so unlike the Holy Spirit, one which is so powerful that it moves and pushes us to become better people with bigger hearts more capable of love than we ever allowed ourselves to be. It’s the spirit emanating from the most miraculous event ever: the birth of Jesus.
So before Christmas 2011 comes to an end, I’d just like to wish everyone the most joyous Christmas cheers and I hope that the magic we felt today may always be treasured in our hearts. Merry Christmas!!!
