November 1st brought with it the start of the Holiday Season... at least in my world. I am a woman who loves Christmas...not so much the day, but most definitely The Season. To me it's a season filled with Possibility...possibilities for Love, possibilities of Joy, possibilities for Light and possibilities filled with Hope. It is the Possibilities that fill my heart with excitement at what the Season may bring year after year. The calendar reads October 25th and the excitement starts to build. By November 1st, IT'S OFFICIAL: the Season has begun and Hope once again takes up residence in my heart! It is in this moment I truly Believe ALL IS POSSIBLE!
I am not sure where this Love for Christmas comes from...or more so why it has stayed with me my entire Life, but I know it's been with me as long as I can remember. Obviously it started as a child, just not sure why, even after learning the truth about the fables that surround the Holiday, did the Joy, the Love, the Light and the Hope remain with me. I may not know why, but I am Grateful that it did.j
My earliest memories of Christmas include a visit to Downtown Buffalo to see the Window Displays at the areas biggest Department Stores. I remember we'd get all dressed up and go with our Mother to see the Displays, talk to Santa on the street corner (I didn't realize he was a Salvation Army Santa) and then go "shop" and get a bite to eat at the "Lunch Counter". I was three and fell in love with the beauty of Christmas, the excitement of the decorations, the way the Sales Woman treated me like I was special and the smile on Santa's Face.
Santa Claus...what can I say, the first guy (outside of my Father) that I ever loved. He represented what was possible each and every year, as one never knew what Santa was going to bring. He inspired one to be the best they could be, after all, "..He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!" No matter what the neighbor boy told me years later, I have always believed in Santa (or at least the Spirit and Possibilities he represents)!
I love Christmas Decorations: the shine, the shimmer, the imagery and the "happiness" they evoke. I love the Lights (the more the merrier) as they sparkle like the stars in the sky and remind me of "the reason for the Season", the Light within all of us.
I have to admit, I am woman that has to restrain myself from putting up my Christmas Trees (yes, I said trees, I've had up to five at a time throughout the house) before Thanksgiving. I am thrilled when an occasion comes that gives me an excuse to put the Tree(s) up early (surgery one year, and a couple years of my Mary Kay Holiday Open House) and am in no hurry to take them down after the Holiday ends. Thank God for the idea of "Little Christmas", because it gives me the perfect excuse to shut down the criticism from those who wonder why I didn't take my tree down by New Years.
The decorations help to add to the Joy I feel on a daily basis throughout the Christmas Season. I remember as a young child the physical presence of Christmas didn't show up at our house until Christmas Eve. That is the Tree wasn't decorated in all it's glory until that night. Yet, the Manger was set earlier, and the statue of "Baby Jesus" was put out as a welcoming to the Season. Once it made it's way into our home, I knew the Possibilities of the Holiday had just begun. The story of The First Christmas always enthralled me, and I remember the way my Mother spoke about the GIFT God gave us. Her voice softened, her eyes smiled and Love filled the air as she spoke about the Hope that Gift brings.
So throughout the month of December I found Joy in the decorations, Hope in the Manger and Possibilities about what could come. Yet the Love of the Season was always evident to me in the Celebrations: the Family get-togethers, the school parties, the cookie exchanges, and gift exchanges. All were filled with Love, from the planning, the coordination of decorations, the preparations, and finally the actual Celebration.
I can tell you exactly the year that the Celebration became synonymous with Love. I was 5 years old, and we were going to our Aunt Steffie's house to Celebrate Christmas Eve. Our Mother got us and her, dressed in our Holiday best, then we packed ourselves and the Christmas presents into the car to go to my Daddy's big sister's house. I remember pulling up to Aunt Steffie's and Uncle Steve's house and seeing Lights in the neighborhood. I was mesmerized as they made the snow diamonds sparkle in a rainbow of colors.
As we walked into Aunt Steffie's home, it was crowded with my father's side of the family and friends. The feeling of Love and excitement was palpable in the air. The excitement was further ignited by the decorations and smells that surrounded us. The food smelled yummy, but the Joy that came at the site of the dessert table was a child's idea of heaven! To this day, the desserts still take center table at all our Holiday celebrations.
We grew up in a time where "children where seen and not heard", so my sisters and I would huddle together and watch as my Father and his sisters would , at one point or another, end up in song. In those moments, as they sang Christmas Songs, the Love was so evident, that the Celebration and the Season's Music became forever indicative of Love.
Now, the memories are wonderful yet they do not explain why, at the age of 52, I still find such joy in the Holiday Season. I think it's simply this, at this time of year, because of what it represents, The Christmas Season becomes a time of Giving. Yes, money is spent, presents are brought and gifts are exchanged, but that is not what I mean.
This Season, Thanksgiving Included, seems to bring out the best in others. We find a reason to be Thankful, we find a reason to be patient (you have no choice this time of year), we find it in our heart to help those less fortunate, even when we are not fortunate ourselves. We take the time to see others, whether it's to hold the door for the person weighted down by Holiday purchases, or saying "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas" as we pass a stranger on the street. We stop to listen to the voices of the children to hear what they would like from Santa, and many times are touched to learn what they ask is for someone else. We become aware of others trials which magnify the level of our own blessings. We sing songs of love and joy. We become present in the Light within.
So this year, if you find yourself complaining that I have started the Christmas Season too early...ask your self this...Why do we only want to celebrate the Holiday Season in December? Personally I wish the Christmas Season could last all year long!...After all, it is The Season of Joy, The Season of Love, The Season of Light and The Season of Hope... THE SEASON WHERE ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!
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