Christmas joy, for me, is a Season, a happening. An experience. It’s like a long story, a big book or a really good movie..It starts when December draws closer. The music comes, the decorations appear. It’s getting darker — and colder. Inside it’s warmer and cozier.
Several of our favorite carols mention it: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come,” “O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,” “Shepherds, why this jubilee, why your joyous strains prolong?” “Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice,” “Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with th’ angelic host proclaim, ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem.’”
It’s here, inside, the Christmas joy experience takes place, mostly.
All the Christmas movies we watch, every evening another. With popcorn and diet cola because we save calories for later. Every week we take out another one of our Christmas boxes and put up some decorations; this way decorating for Christmas is relaxed and fun instead of stressful work.
What thrills me is that we’re all in this together. And that isn’t about family or friends; it’s us as a country all together into Christmas.
Commercials, stores, store windows, music on the radio, people doing Christmas shopping, Christmas decorations appearing everywhere, everything Christmas themed. On TV popular series have the time in their make believe world synced to ours and we see them having Christmas. The Christmas classics appear.
For a couple of weeks we’re all one, sharing the same experience, living the same life. It’s not that I’m a dreamer but that experience, that us approaching Christmas thing … that’s what I point to .
That Jesus is the reason for the season, for example. Or that real Christmas joy comes from giving, not from getting. when you ask me "what is Christmas - joy?"
Have a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year .
