Photo Courtesy of Jim, the Photographer/flickr.com
With recent events in the community, the country, and abroad reminding us daily that life is precious and that evil is always nigh, we at The Forum have one solemn wish this holiday season: please, just let us have Christmas.
Glistening snow or balmy breezes, the magic of Christmas always shines through like a beacon of hope in these trying times. Young and old, we all feel it alight in the faces of children as they open their packages before dawn’s break or in the presence of family and friends gathered to celebrate what should first and foremost be a day of love.
We’d like to enjoy some peace – even silence – this week, and put aside those lurking thoughts that warn us and instill fear. A slow drive, headlights off, through the Holiday Lights Spectacular at Jones Beach. An old school hot toddy drink warming our hands and our throats. A vintage tune, like “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” or “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” playing from a scratchy record, harkening back to a time when the front door didn’t always need to be double- or triple-bolted and people thought it might actually snow on Christmas day. Passing the bowl of nuts around, with those unmistakable nutcrackers, after the meal and before dessert. It’s a Wonderful Life – in black and white – on a channel that isn’t subscription. The smell of crackling logs and peppermint and nutmeg. That surprised smile or quiet gasp making it obvious you got exactly the right gift for someone. Even the petty bickering of nitpicking loved ones is cause for celebration amidst the gravity of shootings, bombs, and terrorist threats that is today a most devastating reality.
Just let us have this day, and the – perhaps disillusioned, in this harsh reality – belief that Christmas can bring everyone together. We know not everyone believes in Christmas. We know not everyone believes in Santa. But really, at the heart of this holiday is the lesson of forgiveness, of peace, and of love. We wish to be reminded of this by the actions of those around us. We wish not to have to seek it, like searching for a flickering, fleeting flashlight in the fog, not to have to force those creeping thoughts of fear out of our minds. When we hear the cliché “the spirit of the season,” for us it means something: it is in fact the spirit and soul of Christmas – that of generosity and goodwill — we mean to invoke, putting all other nastier spirits aside.
As we write our mental list to Santa, this wish edges out everything else. We don’t need new cars or expensive toys. We don’t need lavish parties with fancy champagne. Just let us have the spirit of Christmas – time to spend with our friends and our families, and a moment to silence the painful thoughts of threatening evil.
Let us have this day, and we’ll happily share it with all of you.
