I think I can speak for everyone whenever I say that Christmas was my favorite holiday growing up. I enjoyed the festivities; for example, my aunt and cousins had a tradition of going to the carousel and stopping to get a hot chocolate. We were always hunting for some Christmas lights, and it seemed like my aunt could find the best lights every year.
Christmas Eve meant watching the 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story with my mom. It meant getting into bed as early as 7:00 PM; not only so Santa could come, but Christmas would be here faster. It meant tossing and turning anxiously as you waited for a sleigh to hit the roof.
When Christmas morning was finally here, I would body slam my parents at the crack of dawn with excitement. When I finally saw what Santa and my parents got me, it was time for more presents and an amazing Christmas dinner with my family.
My family always made Christmas better for me. It was time to see my favorite cousins that I don’t get to see as often as I would like. It meant a lot of love in a house full of people. It seemed like our Christmases were the absolute best.
Unfortunately, Christmas isn’t what it used to be. On Christmas Eve, I find myself mourning over the lost of a loved one. I don’t go to sleep early. I don’t wake up at the crack of dawn. I don’t find presents under the tree. Actually, I don’t even find a Christmas tree at all. There are no fancy decorations that used to hang around the house or lights that were strung around the door.
It’s hard to enjoy the holidays whenever they aren’t as magical as they once were. It shocks me that Christmas actually made me feel that way at one point in my life. Christmas has not felt like Christmas the past few years at all. If I could go back to a time of being a child, I would go back to Christmas so I could feel that happiness of the holidays that I once found so familiar.
However, despite all these factors, I try to find something to enjoy during this time. I enjoy that my family finally gets to spend time together and catch up after being apart. I am able to appreciate the birth of Jesus more now that I know there is no Santa. I get to pick out exactly what I want for Christmas. There are many positive factors, even though it feels like the negative outweighs the positive.
There are many things that make the holidays hard for me, but it’s supposed to be a time of joy. It isn’t supposed to be a time that makes me upset. Even though Christmas isn’t the same, I should really try to accept it for what it is now and start getting used to it because I can’t have the past back. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, even if they are experiencing a bit of a humbug.
