The True Meaning of the Holidays

As the holiday season is upon us with Thanksgiving just  a few days away, it seems that the true spirit of the season tends to get lost behind Black Friday sales and Christmas wish lists.  Where has the sense of family time gone to?  We rush around throwing money this way and swiping credit cards that way and Christmas comes and goes in a such a blur that who is really enjoying it?  I've seen kids get so much for Christmas that they don't know what to play with first and I myself have been guilty of doing the same thing. 

While in the hustle and bustle, we tend to forget that there are people out there suffering; those that are without food, without shelter. . . .without family.  When I stop for a moment and think about this, I feel a surge of guilt in that I have raised my kids in such a materialistic world that I worry that I have honestly failed them. Instead of shopping for the #1 gift over the years, I should have been taking them out into the community to help others because isn't that what's really important?  Society is about want, want, want. . .but what about needs?


Thanksgiving has been run over by Christmas.  We basically jump out of Halloween and take the express lane to Christmas.  Now I am just as guilty as the next one, typically decorating before Thanksgiving has gotten here, but this year, I am trying to take a different approach.  The holidays come and go by too quickly. . .life is flying by at such a pace that if I had the ability to slow it down, I would.  I just want to enjoy each and every day with my family.  I don't want to miss one thing.  When I am in my 90s, I want to be able to look back and smile at the memories instead of frown at the important moments I missed.  I don't want a lifetime of regrets, but want a lifetime of good memories.

I do remember one Christmas years ago when the kids wanted less from Santa.  They wanted part of the money that would have been for their gifts to go to help other children have a Christmas.  They felt so good about that, saying they had plenty while other children did not.  That made me feel proud as a parent, but instead of carrying on in the tradition, it became forgotten.  I always worry about whether I have gotten them enough, but looking back, they have received more than enough.  I have allowed them to forget the true meaning of the holidays, the true spirit of Christmas.

What happened to the days of handmade gifts, those that you know someone put a lot of time and thought into?  No....it may not be the newest gaming system or the hot ticket item, but it would come from the heart and can be cherished for years to come.  The gaming system will become outdated.  The hot ticket item today will be replaced by a new hot ticket item tomorrow.  The handmade items will be forever remembered. I have so many things that the kids have made for me over the years that are so much more precious to me than anything else money can buy because it represents a true love, a true gift and that is something you cannot put a price tag on.