The Spirit of Christmas

I love Christmas!  Who doesn't? It truely is the most wonderful time of the year!

My husband and I were elated to be able to travel "home" to Maryland to spend Christmas with our families this year.  The past couple of years my family has come to us because we were either living over seas with limited time off of work or we had just delievered a baby. We are so grateful that my family came to us when we couldn't come "home" but it still didn't quite feel like Christmas when we weren't back in Maryland. So this year has been a real treat for us despite missing my little sister who is currently living abroad in Italy and couldn't make it home (though she did join us for Christmas eve dinner and Christmas morning via Skype).


Dad giving my sister a skype kiss over Christmas Eve dinner

Q skyping with Zia (what he calls my sister) Christmas morning

This Christmas has been especially fun because Q is old enough to enjoy it!  Last year, at a tender 3 weeks old we were lucky if he would wake up to peer at his presents.  This year, he still doesn't really "get it" but he definitely had fun checking out the ornaments on the tree and very slowly ripping miniscule pieces of wrapping paper from his abundance of gifts.

What I look forward to most about Christmas is spending time with family and sharing traditions like searching for ornaments at Valley View Farms with my husband's family and the anticipation of waiting to open presents until after my Aunt Dale's sausage casserole and my mom's baked pears on Christmas morning. This year Q got to pick out his own ornament at Valley View for the first time (he chose a miniature snow globe) and we made some new traditions like going to my brother-in-law and his wife's Christmas Eve party at their new home.

There is also something about coming "home" that makes me feel like a child again and children seem to enjoy Christmas the most. Most likely this phenomenon has something to do with my lack of responsibility at home since our parents are happy to take over taking care of Q and I don't have to cook, clean, etc- it's fantastic!

As wonderful as it is to see our family, participate in traditions, and enjoy the "magic" of Christmas by becoming a kid again, in my family we are always aware of the real gift of Christmas. The reason for all the merriment and joy this time of year comes from a gift that we can enjoy no matter where we are, no matter who we are with, and no matter what season it is.  That gift is God's love. 

This year I was touched by my father's Christmas list.  He asked for $5 Subway cards.  My dad works in the city and will sometimes have homeless people ask him for money to get something to eat.  He is hesitant to give them money since he has even smelled liquor on some of their breaths, but he does not want to turn away a hungry person, so he wants to be armed with something practical and loving that he can give them.  I am so proud to have a father who considers it a personal gift to himself to be prepared to show God's love in a tangible way to others.  Isn't this the true spirit of Christmas, recieving God's love and passing it on?

I have been privileged to grow up in a home were these sorts of acts are the norm, not the exception. I have grown up seeing my parents give and show love to others even when they didn't think we were watching. They live out the spirit of Christmas all year round. Now, as a parent myself, I'm asking myself, what will my children see in me and my husband? What little acts of love will they notice as they grow up? Will the spirit of Christmas live in our home and our family throughout the year? I hope it will. And I believe it will because of the legacy of my own parents who taught me to live in that way. And I hope and pray that the spirit of Christmas lives on in each of your homes too!