This has always been a special time for me. When I was young, my parents would always make a point of "doing Christmas". My Mom would spend weeks baking Xmas goodies (usually while my Dad watched Hockey Night in Canada -- I can't hear the official theme song without thinking of shortbread cookies!). My Dad always tried to take as much time off as possible, but being in the radio industry, he often had to work on Christmas or New Year's Day. But when we were a bit older, he would celebrate being able to take the whole week off by setting up his "bar": red and white wine was poured into carafes for visitors and the Crown Royal was taken out (you knew this was a special occasion if the Crown Royal came out!). My Mom would set out the goodies and, of course, Morden's chocolates (if you're from Winnipeg, you know what I mean).
For me all this meant that we could sit around, reading and playing games, watching special tv shows and enjoying having everyone at home. It was a time of relaxation, of playing, of taking a break from our daily routines. I now realize that it was hardly a break for my Mother, who as a traditional Mom, did almost all of the work and was certainly relieved to get back to normal in January. But I still carry with me the memory that the holiday season was a time to step back and simply take a break.
Now that I have my own holiday season to prepare, I make a point of bridging the gap between my young Xmas experiences and those of my Mom's. I do go to a lot of trouble to make the holiday season special: I insist on outdoor and indoor decorations, I do a lot of baking (although I do cheat and buy my shortbread cookies), I prepare dinners and brunches and some years I even set up a bar like my Dad did. But I also make sure that I have a few hours every day to stop, read a book, watch a goofy movie, catch up on everything my spouse and I haven't managed to say to each other during the year, and simply catch my breath.
Maybe our ancestors had the right idea, creating a holiday at this time of year. Maybe they realized that if we didn't have this excuse, we'd just keep on going as if another year had not passed us by. Maybe they foresaw that we'd be too busy to write to each other (yes, I still send out a handful of Xmas cards), that we'd have too much to do to spend an afternoon reading a good novel, that we'd consider ourselves far too important to do good deeds for others and that we'd all be too broke to buy gifts for our loved ones.
Because regardless of your religious beliefs (if you have any), this is THE time of year for all of that. And my advice to you this year is to use the excuse to slow down, to stop all your running around, to quiet down the hamster in your mind, to put away the "I really should" and the "I just can't" and remember that 2010 is coming to a close and that 2011 is right around the corner. What is truly important in your life? Who do you cherish? What is the ultimate luxury you can provide to yourself?
In my next post, I'll talk about another important tradition I have at this time of year: my year-end review and new year planning. In the meantime, I hope you plan on having a restful holiday season!
