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Advertising Christmas

Last week, I was talking about the upcoming holiday with a dear colleague of mine. We were sharing parts of our stories about staff and students and the spike in stress we were seeing in some of them. We talked about how this particular break has a lot connected to it. There's the idea of Christmas but then there's the reality of Christmas. My friend and cyber-big brother, Tim Dawkins,  published an incredibly well written post earlier this week about the same idea. The reality of this holiday is it is difficult for many. There are real life stressors in many of our lives that can be exacerbated by the idea of the perfect holiday. 

Tim wrote,

This is a difficult time of year for so many of our students. They are bombarded with the picturesque visions of what a family is supposed to be, what new toy or gadget they are supposed to have sitting under a perfectly decorated tree, or what family gatherings are supposed to look like knowing that this just isn’t their reality. Few things sting more for our students than a sense of loss, and that loss is not always black and white. 

 I agree that this time of year is very difficult for some our students. I also worry it is difficult for some of our staff...some of us. 

I worry that we spend more time advertising Christmas than practicing Christmas. We advertise Christmas by putting up a tree, decorating the house, making sure we have presents for friends and family, buying Christmas cards (that I still never get out on time), and even baking cookies. Yet, advertising Christmas isn't all we should be doing. We practice Christmas by honoring our faith (in whatever ways mean most to our families and traditions), supporting others in need, surprising unexpecting people with tokens of love, moving past disagreements with family and friends, and forgiving ourselves for not doing better.

Practicing Christmas will mean it won't be perfect yet we won't expect it to be. I'm challenging myself to accept that and celebrate all that is still good or can be good, nonetheless.

Comments

  1. Daniel ScottDecember 21, 2014 at 6:17 AM

    Moving past the superficial is definitely needed, especially this time of year. Thanks for the post, Lisa!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownDecember 22, 2014 at 7:09 AM

      Hi Daniel, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and to read. I agree moving past the superficial is needed but hard this time of year. I am trying to make deliberate choice to do just that. Enjoy your holidays.

      Delete
    2. Daniel ScottDecember 22, 2014 at 9:48 PM

      Kudos on making deliberate choices! It is through them that one can overcome their difficulties. ;)

      Delete
  2. Principal WrightDecember 21, 2014 at 11:12 AM

    Hi Lisa,

    When I think about the 1st Christmas, it had none of the perfect trappings but it was nonetheless perfect in its meaning. Thanks for the reminder to practice that spirit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownDecember 22, 2014 at 7:10 AM

      Joy, exactly. I wish I would have included that idea in this post. Thank you for reading and the kind comment.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousDecember 22, 2014 at 9:45 AM

    Great Christmastime post, Lisa. I absolutely agree that we need to practise and enact our unique Christmases, not construct the cookie-cutter or Instagram versions. Meaningfulness is key, whatever that is, not shinily packaged perfection.

    I've also recently reflected on Christmas http://theeduflaneuse.wordpress.com/2014/12/22/christmas-presence-not-presents/ and also the beauty of imperfection: http://theeduflaneuse.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/imperfect-perfection/

    Here's to finding our own meaning in our own ways.

    Deb

    ReplyDelete

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