Has it ever struck you as funny that we decorate with snowmen and icicles in Hawaiʻi? I don’t know about you, but December 1st hits, and you can find me snuggled up with hot cocoa in front of my Amazon fireplace, listening to those logs crackle (ok, ok, November 1st). Why do we have such a nostalgic connection to all things winter other than hoping longingly for a dip in temperature? Is 70 too much to ask? Christmas is the time of the year when we collectively get nostalgic, and everyone innately knows you should be a little nicer. Where did this come from?
Many narratives contribute to modern Christmas's strong culture: consider the Nativity, St. Nicholas, and A Christmas Story. Just kidding, that only taught us never to lick a frozen metal post. We have made a collage in our culture of all the Christmas traditions, and now we feel warm and fuzzy just thinking of Hallmark movies, stockings and cookies.
But deeper than this, there is a longing. We long for good times with people we love, for peace with people we hate, and for everything to be okay. We long for happiness, if even for a day. All the songs sing about it. All the movies have a poignant philosophical moment where we discuss “what really matters.” If there isn’t a happy ending, it is not a Christmas movie.
The need for a moment of perfection on Christmas Day can be enough to drive many people to despair. What if I can’t capture even one day, one hour of peace? What if I have no one to share Christmas with — the holiday about friends and family? We run around all year looking for peace and happiness, and then it culminates in one frenzied rush to the finish line, where we hope to find it by a lit-up evergreen.
Returning to the original Christmas, we see baby Jesus born. This Christmas hero came and lived a perfect life, so if our lives are a mess, we can ask for his as a substitute. We may be drowning in more than our fair share of spiked eggnog, but it doesn’t mask our true thirst. If you’re looking for warm fuzzies this Christmas, pull that old Bible off the shelf and see that this light of the world is better than a fake fireplace and fuzzy slippers to make you feel okay. He is the sigh at the happy ending. Only he can satisfy you at Christmas and every day.
Only he can satisfy you at Christmas and every day.