I have to admit, if there’s one time of year I still have to fight the cynicism I’ve mostly come to manage, it’s now.
This season’s many dichotomies are perplexing to me at best: peace on earth/pandemonium in the strip malls. Jesus in the manger/Santa on the rooftop. OUR children opening presents Christmas morning/THEIR children working overtime to keep the toy aisles stocked. A spirit of giving/needless consumption justified by the birth of the son of God?!
Mind. Boggled.
Yep, it’s here in Mexico, too.
Truth is, there’s so much about this time of year that I have issue with that I’d have thrown baby Jesus out with the bathwater by now, except that one, I have no beef with baby Jesus, and two, there are also elements of the season that I truly enjoy.
I love the ritual making-ready, the careful consideration of whom I will knit for and the unearthing of family recipes for their annual glory. I love giving simple gifts and constructing candied casitas and the excuse to linger over mulled libations with the people I love most. I love the nostalgia of Christmas past (my mama makes a mean holiday), caroling in the streets and wearing all my woolens (just maybe not this year).
Mostly, I love the wonder, the joy and the anticipation I see ignited in my girls in such sweet and innocent ways.
So, little by little every year, I am shedding layers of frustration and angst over the way our culture has managed to distort the simplest messages of good will and giving to fit its capitalist agenda and replacing them with the change I want to see.
Because the truth is, without inner peace, this is about as good as it gets, and peace as fantasy is not exactly what I believe the world to be starved for…
And unless I manifest true joy in my own life, I might as well be endorsing this version…
And until I can learn to love without judgement, I am simply contributing to the confusion responsible for this…
This is our third holiday season in Mexico. The first year, we did almost nothing as a much needed break from the seasonal hustle we’d grown weary of in Austin. Last year, I made a few gifts and we enjoyed a truly sweet Christmas in San Cristóbal.
This year, as we’re settling into our new home and town (and as projects are suddenly more doable without toddlers underfoot or babies on my hip), I’m ready to spice it up just a bit and add a few elements we’ve enjoyed in Christmases past:
We’re making ornaments for our barren tree,
I’m knitting up some of my favorite merino…
and reflectively repurposing outgrown baby clothes (updates to follow)…
(…though only after she’s adequately convinced they no longer fit).
Next week, we’ll bake for for friends and neighbors, ready ourselves for Sigorni’s arrival (!!!!) and cozy in beside the fire to keep warm relax on the beach and try to keep cool. Who says sand can’t fulfill dreams of a White Christmas?
As for the overwhelming message coming to me this season? It isn’t so much about what I don’t like about something, as how I choose to fill its place once I let it go.
Here’s to making light of this Christmas season.
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Good stuff! Check out http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
It is a Christian based movement to spend less on ourselves and give more to world needs. Two churches started it, but it is now an international movement. A good start…and refreshing.
I’ve recently discovered your site and have found it a great read. I find my self shaking my head in agreement and saying “Yes! Yes! Yes!” to each post.
When my son was born I decided “Santa” would only bring a classic book of literature to add to his library, he’s now 10, will still says he believes in Santa and spends all of Christmas day reading. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made as a mother and I’ve continued it with my 5 year old daughter.
Thank you so much for sharing on your blog and I look forward to reading more.
Oh, I struggle with Christmas too… With all the consumerism, the fast-paced running around (trying to be at 3 different cities over 36 hours) and all that you said so well. Here in Brazil we celebrate during the summer, which means we have to mash all the merry making with unbearable heat (“Isn’t Santa hot mommy, wearing boots?”), the end of the school year and beginning of summer vacation and the New Years holiday, which is like the 4th of July for us, everybody battling 12 hour-drives to get to the beach. It is just too much! Even though we are taking it slower this year (fewer gifts, fewer parties) it’s still too much for our quiet loving little family. What we are really looking forward is a Solstice picnic at the beach and a water balloon fight to celebrate the summer, I hope we can make it happen, between all the craziness. And maybe that’s all we’ll do next year, start building our own traditions and choosing more carefully what to say yes to. Our most special Christmas so far was spent just the three of us (me, my husband and my son), while we were living abroad, in Germany. Very few and special gifts, some twinkle lights, a simple meal and a winter walk. As much as I enjoy being close to family and friends again, here in Brazil, I definitely feel the need to slow down and make Christmas more simple!
Abraços,
Lucia
This is so good, thank you