Christmas is being celebrated throughout the year by more of us! The Holiday Shopping and Celebrating "Season" also seems to come earlier every year. While some object to these developments, I would argue the reasons, and the positives, of "keeping Christmas" throughout the year.
Many of us find a focus on Christmas--the spiritual / religious dimension as well as the "feel good--positive messages" focus--an important way to build our faith relationships, a great relief from the obstacles in daily life, and a strategy for reminding ourselves of the people we want to become.
We also find holiday themed movies and shows, books, and songs a great escape from the pressures of the world we live in. For an overwhelming number of people ( this blogger included ) --the "economic recovery" is something we read about, but don't personally experience. Financial pressures have mounted for millions of us, and the simple pleasures bring relief from those pressures, if only for a hour or two.
It's interesting to me that this trend toward "holding onto" Christmas seems to have increased in the past decade, as many of us "baby boomers" are reaching our 60's and beyond. Perhaps you feel as I do--that the world has changed so much, and not in a good way, over the course of my lifetime, and many of the holiday / Christmas shows and books bring us back to what seems to be a better and simpler time. Aging also brings with it physical issues and deterioration, an increased experience of pain, of being unable to do the things we used to do. and anything positive in terms of fun brings with those experiences some measure of pain relief.
If only the "messages" of Christmas could become the essence of how we all live year round! In the meantime, a growing number of us share Christmas with each other--and what a wonderful blessing that is!
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