The Grinch Couldn't Steal Christmas

Today is Christmas Eve 2020 and millions of people around the world will celebrate. And for each one of us, Christmas has its own unique meaning and significance. This holiday is miraculous and magical. This time of year floods our minds with so many memories. Of all our celebrations, Christmas is about love, faith and tradition all folded in. We feel our hearts grow with hope as we stretch our faith.

December is a magical time full of holidays to represent miracles in our life and to express love and good cheer. This is a time for us to remember and honor the past while we look forward to the future and pray for good things to come. For me, I call it Christmas, and it is my favorite time of year for it is and always has been magical. I can remember as a child waiting in anticipation for Santa to come on Christmas morning, searching the night sky on December 24th hoping to see or hear something to prove it is all true! And being raised to also know and believe that Christmas is really about Jesus. My curiosity led me to wonder too about how one little baby could have been born in a manger so very long ago. A baby who was born to fulfill a promise and carry out the biggest job - to come and change - really save the world. For a kid, that’s a lot of excitement and a lot of questions.

I am so grateful that I have not outgrown my curiosity. Not one bit! I still ask a lot of questions. I am still seeking answers and I am still in awe of all that we have and all that we were created to be. My hope is that my spirit reflects that in all that I do. I am still seeking to feel and see the magic of Christmas all around me. It is a season of wonder and hope. It is a time to celebrate each other and to give of ourselves. This is how I choose to see Christmas anyway because there has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we are here for something else – something bigger – than ourselves.

The magic of Christmas doesn’t have to change or end on December 25th. It can be with us all year long. Because Christmas need not be just a season it can be a feeling. Whether your focus and belief is rooted in the miracle that occurred in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago or the belief in the magic of Santa traveling the world in just one night to give presents to boys and girls or whether you celebrate Christmas by giving to others …the truth is that one day of the year has the power (if you let it) to change you, warm your heart and expand it all at the same time …that is a miracle in itself.

Dr Seuss said, “Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand.” This Christmas time is different for all of us. No one is unaffected by this global pandemic especially during this season. Trees are lit, decorations are up yet it is not the same. Shopping was a challenge with face masks, hand sanitizer and foggy glasses. Do we go in the store or do we order online? Should I do curb side pick up or just get it all on Amazon? Do I buy all the gifts I usually buy every year? Will I see all of my family and friends? Who can come over? How many people will we be?

The questions have been endless and so is the worry for a lot of people. Some of us have quite frankly, had it. Who thought 9 months later we would still be doing this? I didn’t at first? Did you? It’s easy to let all of this steal our joy and make us feel blah. We can focus on all the things we don’t have right now or we can decide how to handle the holidays with some positivity and optimism.  

First step …it is always the first step…Set our mindset on the right track. Calvin Coolidge said “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”

Change is not easy for most people. And this year has been full of changes. And …we have figured it out and worked through them. We are still here and we are standing in our faith. That’s what Christmas is about after all. Faith. And I know a lot of things appear to be the same and then there are so many things that are different. Some of our holiday traditions have changed and some people we love may not be around the dinner table at Christmas. It is an ever-changing world. Some of these changes might be temporary and some of the changes may lead us to create new traditions and memories.

I love family traditions and we all take comfort in them. Keep as many of them alive now as possible and be willing to start some new ones. Maybe there will be less plates set at the dinner table this year but perhaps a family zoom call over breakfast or cocktails is the new norm this year. How many long-distance friends and relatives have you missed being with for so long due to distance? Well maybe this is the year you all decide to facetime and spread love and good cheer. We must be physically distant and limit our group size but that doesn’t mean we can’t connect.

Most years we can get caught up in the usual frenzy of business mixers, holiday parties, shopping, wrapping, cooking and baking that we hardly enjoy ourselves or allow ourselves to feel the true meaning of Christmas. So perhaps this year, 2020 has given us a real gift. The gift of time and space. The gift of quiet. The gift of reconnecting to our homes. The gift of recognizing what is truly important in life. The gift of awareness and gratitude for all things big and small.

This is a great time to fill your sack with lots of gifts. But not the kind you buy in the store. Instead, give the gift of love and gratitude to as many people as you can this week. Make phone calls, send emails, write a note or send a text to your co-workers, your postal carrier, your UPS driver, your clients, friends, family, pastor, restaurant owner, banker, insurance rep, teacher, nurse, doctor, dentist, groomer, stylist. You get the idea But show someone in your world that you see them, appreciate them and thank them. Be your own Santa this week and spread joy! Spread love and let it travel far.

Don't let anyone or anything steal your joy. The Grinch couldn't steal Christmas and neither can anything else. Christmas is a feeling in your heart. Let it glow. Let it shine.

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.

What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” – Dr Seuss

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful day full of love and gratitude. To all those who have experienced the loss of a loved one or any hardship this year my heart goes out to you and I offer my deepest condolences and prayers for you and yours. Let us stand in faith that this new year ahead will be better than the one we will leave behind.