A Pondering of the Season

I was putting my review for A Beautiful Disaster here on 'talks" and got to thinking about Christmas.  In my mind Christmas is a beautiful disaster.  The beautifully decorated homes both inside and out, the disaster is the stress to get everything out of attics, basements or storage cubbyholes haul it to where ever you need it and then get to work putting it all up for me that usually takes several days. Oh and don't forget the house cleaning you have to do both before everything goes up and after.  The glinting packages presents or gifts that sit under the tree and around the house is warming to the heart, knowing your loved ones took the time to think of you while they shop for your likes and dislikes.  The hair pulling as you try to think of what everyone would like and the shopping to find it just to learn they bought it for themselves last week.  Elderly parents who have everything and say they don't want anything for Christmas but the disappointed faces when there are no gifts under the tree come Christmas eve or morning.  The smell of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon   filling the air bring back memories of your childhood and a smile to your face.  The weeks of baking, baking  then clean up, clean up just so you can enjoy that homey aroma.  The beauty of your friends and family coming together to celebrate the season as you attend parties and entertain in your home.  Trying to figure out if you can wear last year's dress or do you have to buy new, and if it is new where is the money coming from the food budget, the gift budget or robbing a bank. Ahhhh then Christmas, your family together, the food is cooked everyone is in a great mood and it's over.  Not quite you have to cook that food, set the table and ensure Aunt Maud isn't sitting next to Uncle Bill cause he drinks and she will lecture and a fight will break out.  Then there is Tina 17 going on 49 who has refused to sit at the "little kids" table and there is no room at the "big table" for her. Now the gifts those beautiful gifts how gorgeous they look in the ribbon and
and shiny paper, seeing the faces of loved ones anxious and grinning all relaxing back with their coffee as the children sit quietly by the tree.  And you run around gathering up all the paper and boxes, tissue and bows to ensure they get into the garbage, then fixing more coffee and running out to find a store open because you ran out of cream since little jimmy knocked the carton out of the fridge all over the floor.

The most Beautiful disaster of all is that most have forgotten the reason for the season. Christ's birth as our saviour. I won't preach but I think about what that means in relation to how we celebrate Christmas in a society that won't let us wish people a Merry Christmas and where you have Seasonal Parties.  What happened to the "Peace and brotherhood" to pausing and remembering.  Even if you are not Christian this time is a reflection of what we hold dear and missing those who are not with us. To remember that neighbor who kept loaning you his lawn mower when your's  broke last summer.  To say a special thank you to the young man who helps you out with your groceries every week.  To recognize the boy who delivers your newspaper no matter what the weather. To me as a Christian I embrace everything that Christ's birth meant to the world.  None believers can embrace the "goodwill toward men" and surprise the guy behind you at Tim Horton's or whatever your local coffee shop is, buy him a coffee give him a smile and put the Beautiful back into the season and leave the disaster for other times.