On Christmas day I was always the first one up. My eyes would rise with the sun, and I would look around to see if my sisters were up too. They were always still asleep, even my youngest sisters. I would wait patiently in bed for them to wake up until I got impatient about five minutes after.
“Latina? Shakira?” I would call out. There was usually no answer, so I would try again. After getting them up, we would all run to our parents room, bust the door open, and jump on their bed until their energy matched ours. Then we would get to my favorite part of the day: opening the presents. My dad is usually the one to run the show. One by one, he would pass the presents out, and we would all gawk at the person who’s turn it is to unwrap a present. We then thanked, kissed and hugged everyone for giving us our gifts; my parents got the most hugs and kisses. After this, we would all go to the kitchen for a sizzling breakfast, and a mug of hot chocolate.
My Christmases no longer look like this.
Now on Christmas day, no one gets up when I wake them up. When I call out to my sisters, they just change their position in the bed, and stay asleep for an additional two hours or so. When everyone is finally up, there’s barely presents to open because the presents are now given before December 25th, not to mention, unwrapped. This year my dad even took me to the mall to buy my present. What happened to the surprise factor? The excitement? What happened to the Christmas I use to know?
Now that I am older, I have come to the realization that the meaning of Christmas changes as you mature. People are too caught up in their everyday lives, and they begin to neglect what Christmas use to mean to us as children. For a child, Christmas is a magical time of the year. It’s the time of year it is acceptable to allow a stranger into your home late at night and eat your cookies and drink your milk. It is when people get what they want but probably would not buy for themselves. It’s the time to give, laugh and receive.
But now, I am still giving and laughing occasionally, but the magic and the receiving is gone. Why should Christmas change just because I am older? I think it is important to keep the magic of Christmas alive as we mature. Christmas becomes less fun without the magic, the excitement and the innocence.
My mom told me once that she has lost her love for Christmas. “We didn’t have much,” my mom said. “But on Christmas my mom and dad would somehow find the money to buy us presents and buy food we wouldn’t normally have throughout the year. Those were the best times.”
Christmas for my mom used to be fun because she had something to look forward to: good food and presents. So is it because grownups don’t have anything to get excited for on Christmas the reason why this holiday loses its magic the older we get?
Maybe it’s because when you become an adult you do more of the giving than the receiving; you do the cooking and the hosting and the spending.
Perhaps the best way to keep the magic alive on Christmas day is to not forget about the adults, because we need Christmas too.