Christmas and my heart

I’ve got to be honest, I absolutely love the winter, I love snow, the crisp air, the frost on the ground, but what really makes me love this time of year are the rituals that drive us near to people we love. When Fall comes we connect with Family and look at the leaves, we do hayrides together, we drink hot cider on a cold night, then we move into Thanksgiving where we come back together eat till we just can’t move anymore, sit together, laugh together, take naps together, watch parades together, go shopping together, then Christmas finally roll into town and we celebrate together, wrap gifts together, have more parties together, celebrate some more, eat some more, and be together some more.

I think these are the reasons why I love winter; cause winter holds the rituals that bring us together.

But I’m realizing that this is not the norm across America. This morning I read a poll asking

Holidays…
A - Break your heart
B - Stress you out
C - Mess you up
D - Make you sentimental
E - Energize you
F - Cause you to dream
G - Focus you
H - Give you nightmares
I - Draw you near
J - Infuse you with hope
(more at www.intersectcommunity.com/blog)

The answers amazed me. No one said the holidays infused them with hope, draw them near, or give them nightmares. But 1% did say that the holidays caused them to dream, energized them, or made them sentimental, 2% said they messed them up, 3% reported it stresses them out, but the kicker, the one that really amazed me was that 93% said that the holidays break their heart.

93% that percentage amazes me, just for integrity I’ll let you know that only 153 have responded to the poll as I write this, but the percentage is still something to think about. What makes me stop and listen to this number even more is the fact that the vast majority of conversations I’ve had lately echoes almost verbatim what this tiny poll is saying. (Now I don’t believe that 93 % of America is heartbroken at Christmas but I am starting to wonder if my joyful view of the holiday are far from the norm.)

The young adults I’ve been talking to as of late have finally gotten to the place where they are old enough to realize just how dysfunctional their families are, just how trivial the arguments are, just how stressful it is to be at the “right places at the right time” and that now all those amazing gifts under the tree actually cost money, which they don’t have much of.

But Christmas is not lost.

Christmas does not have to be a time of heartbreak. Christmas is deeply rooted in joy, peace, and love and I must believe that the Christmas that I know, the winter season that I love, can still be had, that young adults can turn the tide of what they have grown up with, and that future polls will reflect high percentages of hope, love, dreams, refocusing, and joy.

I must believe what I know, others can as well.

But how…?

But until then, here are some pics from my time with the fam.


PS. Merry Christmas