Well, yet another Christmas rolls around. Anticipation escalates exponentially now as family is preparing to travel and gift-giving is on the forefront of every one's mind. (Seriously? More like gift-GETTING.) As much as people want to take the high road, you KNOW that there is at least an equal quotient of GET as there is in GIVE. The old adage of "it is better to give than to receive" only goes so far in our society. The song, "Santa, Baby" speaks the true feeling of the Christmas we all know and love.
And yet, in my advancing years, I seem to recall a day when there was almost no gift-getting. We had nothing to speak of, and we had little to give. I could expect maybe a single gift under the tree. What I REALLY looked forward to was later. The cousins would rally at the family "reunion" and we would sled or have snowball fights or ice skate. The activity of the day revolved around which house we all gathered at, and depended on the natural resources of that spot. Now, you can say that because of my age, there is a slight encroachment of nostalgia leaking into the thought process. True enough. One of my favorites is gathering around in the kitchen to help make lefse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefse). I'm not certain how we came to know and love lefse other than being in/near the community of Scandinavians who shared the "love". Working together on the lefse was as important as anything under the tree.
There is hope. The family Christmas this year is to focus on PRESENCE, not presents. Our gift to each other is simply to BE THERE. We will gather at a more central location for those who don't have much time for vacation. We will divide spasmodically over the period of 3 days and 4 nights in order to return for a superb meal of fried fish or chicken. There will be game playing and laughter. We will sit around the fireplace and drink coffee (Starbucks, of course) and plan for the future. We will laugh about gatherings and Christmas past. A jigsaw puzzle is a baseline requirement. There might be a tear or two because friends and family will miss this gathering, but we believe they won't care. Who notices about a tree and gifts when you are in the presence of the Greatest-Gift-Giver?
Snow or not, presents or not. Christmas this year will be a little different flavor than our family has experienced. May we be mindful of the reason there IS a Christmas and remember that it is true - it really "is more blessed to give than to receive".
Merry Christmas
