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 Christmas Revisited

The belief of Santa, the giver of presents, adds excitement for many children at this time of year. The jolly, plump man dressed in bright red, who delivers presents in the dead on night on Christmas Eve. I always worried as a child. What happens if Santa Claus goes sick?  I am sure my school work suffered during December. My mind wondering during physics, anxiously waiting to see if the letter I had taken hours to write, with colourful illustrations was read and what I wanted was delivered, on time and to schedule. I do admit I definitely heard his sleigh bells!

The funny thing is I have enjoyed with my 2 kids, the same rituals and traditions. The writing of letters to Santa. The decorating of the tree, with handmade decorations hung up with care and a chuckle at the memory of it being made. The leaving out of a carrot for Rudolph, the reindeer and a whisky and a sweet mince pie for Santa - no wonder he is a bit overweight!

Christmas time is such a rich time of tradition. Many of the customs we observe today are centuries old. However, I found a few interesting ones, that my mother obviously forgot to pass onto me!  

• During the Elizabethan era (15th century, England) people would decorate reindeer instead of trees; allowing them to freely wander through the house-and you thought cleaning up pine needles was a pain!
• For a brief period in England, Christmas carollers were replaced by Christmas hecklers. One of their repeated phrases was, "You call that a gift?" This is the origin of the first snowball fight, allegedly!
• During the Dark Ages (12/13th centuries), the traditional pulling of Christmas Crackers found its inception in the pulling of the Christmas Finger.

I was struck as I wondered around IKEA in late September and saw the Christmas decorations being put out.  Maybe I am getting old - but I am sure when I was a child (and we are going back a bit!), things were a wee bit less commercial. Nowadays, the majority of people consider Christmas to be the most highly anticipated and marketed event of the calendar. It has a huge economic impact on the countries celebrating it.

I came across some very amusing comments about this growing age of commercialism.

·  "The only time I heard heard Jesus mentioned this year was when my neighbour opened his Visa bill!”
·  "As we ignore the shopping frenzy until the last possible moment, we men are better able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas!”

I am not a religious person. But one thing I do try to remember is that there is a spiritual side to Christmas. It is sometimes difficult when the focus is ever on the commercial aspects of the celebration. I do think Christmas is a time for giving.  I try to instil this tradition with my kids - but funny, they just seem to worry if Santa will get sick with food poisoning!  Giving is a way to express and show feelings. We Brits are meant to be not very good at this! But, giving and receiving creates great memories. It symbolises our willingness to care and go out of our way to do something extra for someone else, such as preparing a special meal, making a hand made card or making or buying a special gift.  Nothing can beat the sound of ripping paper and the shrieks of joy as presents are exchanged and opened. 

Laughter is one thing I always associate with Christmas (well, OK and the odd family argument!).  Santa, is well known for his 'Ho ho ho' greeting and laughter. Researchers now tell us that laughter brings balance to our immune system. Reducing stress and improving health! Santa has been showing us how to handle life's daily stresses all this time.  I must remember that when I burn the turkey!

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