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In an opinion column in the Dec. 2 issue of The Maine Campus (“Holiday Spirit Should Remain Year Round”), Ryanne Nason urged readers to “wake each and every morning looking forward to the good intentions of people worldwide.”
I think Miss Nason is missing the point here, and her column shows that, really, she has no idea what the holiday season is even truly about.
People who think the Christmas season means walking around with a big smile on, wishing “happy holidays” to whomever crosses their path just don’t really get it. Their hearts are in the right place, but to be honest, who doesn’t get sick of all that after a while? The shop clerk is only smiling so you’ll buy a few more presents from their store and the second you leave you’ll be completely forgotten.
Think about your favorite Christmas TV special. Maybe it’s “Rudolph,” or “Charlie Brown,” maybe even “The Grinch.” Aside from the holiday setting, what do these stories all have in common? They’re all about a group of misfits, or an outsider, and how these people who usually have nowhere to go and no real security in their lives find a group of people who accept them.
These outcasts find a family. It’s no revelation to say Christmas is about celebrating your own family and friends, but people miss why, and it ties into Nason’s column.
People aren’t happy all the time, wishing each other well or doing each other favors. It’s harsh out there and in the winter months, when the sun sets earlier and the temperature drops, it’s even easier to get depressed. Christmas comes at the perfect time. We can warm ourselves by the fire and reflect on the year we’ve had with the people we couldn’t live without.
If people are happy and joyous all year round, the season loses all meaning. It no longer feels that much more earned, that much more essential. Only by experiencing true pain can a person understand the comforts of relief, and only when we see complete darkness can we appreciate the light.
Don’t get me wrong, festive joy and singing carols is fun, but there’s something to be said for reflection and an earned moment of sentiment. I find a lot more meaning in hugging my brother and kissing my mother’s cheek on Christmas morning because I know deep down the past year has been hard on all of us, and yet we’re still here, and still love and appreciate each other.
Nason imagines a world where everyone appreciates each other, singing around a Christmas tree all year long. I like to imagine a world where my student loans will magically disappear out of the kindness of the bankers’ hearts. Sadly, neither of these things will ever happen. We cannot radically change the world we live in. Instead, we should work toward understanding it.
“If people were nice year-round, we wouldn’t have to look forward to a single season of well-wishing,” Nason wrote.
I say, what’s wrong with looking forward to that single season which holds so much meaning and joy? For some of us, that’s all we’ll ever have. For some of us, Christmas is the one time of year when all sins are forgiven, all wrongs are righted and goodwill toward men becomes more than something sung about.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Miss Nason.
