The Christmas Spirit

What comes to mind when you hear the words "traditional family"?

Parents still married. Dad is some rugged Ken doll in an army uniform. Mom is his Barbie doll equivalent, with curled blonde hair, a billowing circle skirt. She vacuums the living room, a majestic dance of spinning skirts and graceful cleansing. The kids are playing in the spacious front yard, never growing past the age of eight or so, jumping in the spray of the sprinkler, screaming with delight. A golden retriever named Ralph barks, loud and jovial, and circles the playing children, and no one cares what life is like outside of the white picket fence.

Much to the dismay of Hollywood filmmakers and the like, this family never existed.

Americans have odd standards set up in their minds when it comes to their idea of perfection. They believe in intangible things, making them their goals subconsciously. Absentmindedly searching for conventional solutions to things that usually aren't problems in the first place.

People always talk about "getting in the Christmas spirit."

This year, I just couldn't seem to get into that spirit. I couldn't remember where it came from. I couldn't remember if I'd ever actually found it in the first place. But what if "the Christmas spirit" is just another overrated figment of America's imagination?

I mean, what is it, anyway? Blasting Christmas music in the car? Drinking hot chocolate? Baking? Decorating your house? Picking out a tree for the living room? Going to holiday parties? Going shopping? Getting gifts? Giving gifts?

After giving this whole "Christmas spirit" thing a bit of thought, I settled on an answer that just seemed so easy. Too easy, but what else could it be?

"It's true, wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas."

I think that the Christmas spirit is love. Love, fueled by Christmas. It's loving the world around you when you look outside and see snow falling peacefully. It's loving Jesus for loving us back. It's loving the Christmas movies you watch every year. It's loving being alive on December 21, and every other day too. It's loving your best friend when she gives you a makeshift photo album of memories after she drew your name for Secret Santa. It's loving that moment as you leave school on the last day before break, like a colder version of the last day of school. It's loving Floyd even though I hate him and I don't exist anymore. It's loving your family when you find yourself surrounded by them and their mouths that flap like ducks' asses and their love for you. It's so weird, knowing that people love me. I don't know why. It's like, I didn't do anything to deserve it, and yet, it's there. I guess that's really what family is. Loving people for no real reason. Just knowing you do.

If you look for love, you'll find the Christmas spirit everywhere. "It's true, wherever you find love, it feels like Christmas." That quote is from "A Muppets Christmas Carol," which I've been watching every year on Christmas Eve for as long as I can remember.

Sometimes we learn the most important things from places we'd never think to look.

Merry Christmas, everyone. :)