CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS YEAR ROUND: WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Friday, December 3, 2010

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Just a minute ago, I read my sweet lil' friend Susan's blog post titled TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT CHRISTMAS. Now if you don't know Susan, you may be raising an eyebrow. But I DO know her, and she's no hater! I told her I think she just doesn't feel comfy with all the changes people and time have made to this holiday. (NOTE: She did NOT ask my opinion. LOL! I gave it free of charge.) Anyway, what she said was VALID! And it made ME start thinking, "What do I hate about Christmas?" Hmmmm ... let's see. Okay - here's my list.
1. I hate that there are WAY too many people who have no one to exchange Christmas hugs with. Makes me want to run around the world, hugging EVERYONE!
2. I hate that some people believe it's the only time to give to or show compassion for people.
3. I hate that the season 'officially' ends so quickly.
4. I hate that $$ EVER factors in and makes some people see the holiday as a competition about buying bigger and better!
5. I hate that certain foods seem to be ONLY for the season. (I don't let that guide ME, tho'. I drink eggnog and eat decorated cookies anytime I get a chance! And trust me, I have the ample butt to PROVE it! HAHAHAHA! Or I should say, HOHOHO!)
6. I hate that I don't have a magic wand to wave over EVERYONE and make Christmas as marvelous to THEM as it is to ME!
NOW! What do I LOVE about the holiday? I will TRY to restrict myself to a FEW things!
1. I love the music! Yes! The SAME music everyone ELSE is complaining about! The carols played from late November through Dec. 25th in grocery stores, malls, etc. I sing with ALL of them. LOUDLY! I really DO!
2. I love how people are NICER to each other and how I can give a gift for no reason other than the time of year.
3. I love - oh, HOW I love - the smells! Christmas trees, wassail, cookies fresh from the oven ... hohoho!
4. I love giving!!!! And it's the ONLY time of the year I CAN give without people thinking I have some ulterior motive for it!
5. I love the cold weather. (Of course, I love it ANY time!)
6. I love familar old Christmas cartoons, movies, songs, books ...!
I could make this list go to 100-plus things but I'll stop before I DO let myself keep going. I guess I'm a weirdo, but I think this is the time of year when we get to CHOOSE to renew ourselves. We get to look at all the possibilities and opportunities to choose joy, and if we DO choose it, we get a chance to sit back and just ALLOW it to fill us! WHY do I love Christmas so much? I grew up in a house where it was only slightly MORE miserable than at any other time of year, yet I realized I STILL felt the magic. And I KNEW if I could feel magic above the pain and anger all around me, it must be a REALLY powerful holiday. So I ask YOU: What do YOU love about Christmas?

5 comments:

just me said...: shhhh I secretly listen to christmas music all year!! it does just make you feel good!:); December 3, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Thimbleprims Studio said...: Well said, my friend, well said. You are so incredible and amazing as well as utterly captivating.
: ) AND, you are absolutely the sweetest person I've ever known.
Yes, unfortunately, some of us had less than "magical" Christmases growing up. I had pretty good ones as a child but the ones during my adolescence were crappy.
You are so incredible, my friend. I am striving to be more like you and someday, I may manage it. : )
Lots of love and huge holiday hugs from,
Cindy; December 3, 2010 at 2:26 PM
jandee said...: I guess--- I love --the "magic" that is "Christmas"--- more --than I do the "thotlessness" that is Human!TO List our shortcomings would give it too much imporatance !! And I wish we could --as your blog title says---celebrate CHRISTMAS "all year"--Then maybe there would be less "GRINCHES"!?!?!; December 3, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Susan Ramey Cleveland said...: I love your loves and hate your hates, Kai. They're so very "you." You deserve the very merriest Christmas on earth.; December 10, 2010 at 8:08 AM
creativedawn said...: The magic...that thing that occurs when you say a kind word to another. The smiles of joy on the faces of folks who NEVER smile or have reason to smile... I pray that we don't allow anyone to take this season away; of course, that would force us to be Chrismassy the entire year. YAY!!! You've given me something to think about...

hugz

Pam; December 14, 2010 at 2:20 AM

WHAT I'M READING

MOLOKA'I BY ALAN BRENNERT - Rachel is only seven years old when she's torn from her family and isolated in an area of Hawaii reserved for people with Leprosy. This is a very sad, yet very beautifully written account, spanning the years from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. While the story is a novel, it's based on truth, and as I read, I paused and researched some of what I was reading. I learned so much about Leprosy and how what MOST of the characters in this book actually had compared to the Biblical depiction of the condition. Reaffirmed through not only Rachel's history, but the history and stories of those condemned to live separate from their families and ostracized from mainstream society, was one constant: people learn to live with what they are given. Some retreat, some thrive, some give up. But regardless of circumstances, like Rachel, the fabulously real focal character of Brennert's book, they endure. Moloka'i is 388 pages of wonder. Parts of it will forever haunt me. Parts will bring me to tears years from now. But I will NOT forget it.
THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC - At a scant 129 pages, this compact book holds so much intense emotion I could not read it as quickly as I wanted. I had to stop, chew, swallow, and wait for each nuance of each chapter to digest. Narrated by a single (unknown) woman of Japanese heritage, THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC is the story of Japanese women pre-WWII, who came to America as promised wives to Japanese men. They arrived with hopes and dreams, fear and excitement, memories and momentos. Each woman carried a different past into her new present. But all carried ONE thing in common - a photo of her husband-to-be. Suffice it to say, all were NOT what the pictures OR the letters promised. This story is a quick moving account of what happened once the women arrived until which time they found themselves in the middle of the second world war and all the fear and prejudice and change it brought. Though the reader never learns the name of the narrator or gets to focus on any one woman, somehow the overview of ALL the women is sufficient to move the story along easily and interestingly. I loved it. I really, really LOVED it!
Noah's Wife 5500 BCE by T.K. Thorne - I've read a lot of novels based on the Bible's Noah. This book is VERY differnt in that it centers almost solely around the woman who was Noah's partner. In this version she is Na'amah, a girl with Asperger's Syndrome, a branch of Autism. I am not quite finished reading this but I had to add it here in hopes that some of you will also read it. Beautifully written, VERY interesting take on the familiar story, and - regardless of the fact that I KNOW how it ends, I am enthralled with this writer's clever portrayal of one who was, in previous versions, all but ignored. BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BOOK!
Scars by Cheryl Rainfield - OMG! I read this straight through, shivering, crying, remembering ...! The main character, Khendra, is in therapy for sexual abuse which began at age 2. The problem is - her mind is supressing the identity of her abuser. A WORSE problem? Her abuser is trailing her; leaving threats and insidious messages. Khendra also cuts herself. This relieves the pain inside yet leaves physical scars meant to soothe the emotional ones. This book is one you will read until you gasp for air and realize you haven't been breathing! PLEASE, if you want to understand the methods of a predator and the agony of a person being abused, read this book. It isn't pretty. It isn't happy. But it's REAL. And it MAY just help YOU help someone else one day.
Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott - This book is well over 300 pages and I read it all, but STILL don't know how I feel about it. Let's just say I wish I had been the editor because her premise was awesome. Her execution? Well ...! The story is about a young woman who lives in a society where she and many others are outcasts because of a ruler's mandate. She ends up finding her father, a leader in another realm, and comes to terms with her anger, prejudices, etc. Am I making it sound compelling? NO? Good, because most of it isn't. The author has some really good segments through the book, but there's so much convoluted yakking & silliness in places, it distracts a reader from the good parts. I would not buy this one if I were you! Just my opinion.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin - (Young Adult) If you like to delve into the realm of faeries (and I DO) and want a bit of mystery, puzzle solving, and 'real life' tossed in, along with amazingly good writing, this is the right book. I own several by the author, but so far have read only IMPOSSIBLE. Despite my strong aversion to ANYTHING that even smells of romance novels, I loved this story. The 'romance' was a focal point in the story, but NOT, by any means THE story. This writer knows her stuff! THUMBS UP!
Reckless by Cornelia Funke - the author of the Inkheart trilogy wrote this very strange novel. It's meant to be a take on the Snow White mirror thing, but it jumps around WAY too much and not necessarily in a good way. Her IDEA is magnificent. Her execution left me cold.
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood, Duchess of Northumberland - I picked up this book about the daughter of a man who heals with plants, the man himself, and a very mysterious young man who's called Weed. Read straight through it because I absolutely COULD NOT put it down!
Folly by Marthe Jocelyn - a rather down-in-the-mouth YA book that seems to focus more on building UP to a 'surprise' ending than on anything else. Didn't HATE it. Also didn't LOVE it.
Dark Song by Gale Giles - a girl finds out her family has been living a lie and the lie changes everything, including who she becomes. I couldn't put it down!
Plain Kate by Erin Bow - a young girl who has learned to carve from her father suddenly finds herself an orphan, accused of using a 'witch-blade' by the superstitious town folks. A good story with so many twists!
Stolen by Lucy Christopher - young adult but not just for kids! Very intense story of a young girl who is kidnapped right out from under her parents' noses at an airport. Extremely suspenseful! Very good!
The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter, the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry - for those of you familiar with the author, three words: TYPICAL DAVE BARRY! For those unfamilar, three words: FUNNY, FUNNY, FUNNY! A VERY quick read!
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - There is NO doubt in my mind why this was a HUGE bestseller! I LOVED IT!
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenhauf - a mystery as well as a beautiful story
The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay by Beverly Jensen - Heartbreakingly wonderful
Knitting by Anne Bartlett - set in Australia, this follows two women and a homeless man's personal journeys - a comforting book!
The Outside Boy by Jeanine Cummins - About Irish 'Travellers' or Gypsies - SOOOOOO GOOD!