Almost Christmas

Of course we are shocked the holiday is very near. Every year we say the same thing. We look forward to it. We prepare for it. We shop for it. We travel for it as well. The date remains the same yet we seem to fight to delay it; just a little more time, please!

As we grow older, our expectations shift, and time pressures seem less. Certainly, for ourselves, we need so little as gifts. The important things are gatherings of loved ones, just being in the noisy rooms with them, observing their expectations and joy of the season. These are the rewards for living long lives.

Those long lives come at an expense, though. Elders have financial pressures as living costs continue their ever upward shift while incomes stagnate naturally. Participation in season’s activities shift from old norms of gift giving. The season takes on another flavor, one with togetherness as its theme.

It takes time to adopt the new theme. Lower participation is the root of the unease. Time does cancel these feelings, however; we focus on the gatherings of family and friends. Pondering the truer meaning of the season becomes a stronger focus as well.

New beginnings. Fresh starts. Doing more with fresh ideas and understanding. All are positives we can employ as we prepare to welcome the new year. The holidays mark the yearend celebration and the welcome of the new year. How appropriate that is.

Christmas is a cultural holiday as well as a religious one. Of course, that is for Christians, but also significant activities at this same time of year for other religions which surround us. We are a diverse people with many cultures and creeds. Most of us do not know or understand well what those creeds and cultures are, but we welcome them just the same.

It is a reason our nation is what it is. A land of immigrants, each and every one of us except for Native Americans. They can also scroll back eons to immigration shifts of their own ancestors. Our family roots are of differing age, but immigrant just the same. People come to our land for promise and opportunity. They provide the humanity, work efforts, and diversity that enriches our public.

Rather than making these differences a political football, perhaps the seasonal focus ought to be our diversity caused by immigration itself?

That would be refreshingly honest and historically correct!

As we think on this, Happy Holidays to you all.

December 20, 2024

 

 

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