Finding Comfort and Joy...

...Christmas 2014.  Here in Ohio it is a gray and snowless day.  Yesterday the temperature was actually in the 60's.  That is just wrong in so many ways.  Personally, I like snow.   The bitter temperatures of last year can stay with Christmas Past, thank you very much.  But somehow Ohio deserves a better-looking holiday than this.
     This has been a year of many transitions in my life.  Without realizing it, I have slipped from Christmas Past and Present into the scary Christmas Future from Dickens' Christmas Carol.  So much change, so much loss.  Whatever seems sad in ones life somehow seems worse at Christmas.  We are supposed to be happy and joyous. That gets tougher as the years fly by in ones life.  And nobody likes change when it violates our comfort zones. But change is inevitable.  If we don't change we stagnate, so let the changes come.  We'll "deal", as a friend used to say. 
     How does one manage to have a merry Christmas?  I have found that Christmas is what you make it.  One thing I have noticed is that one's personal traditions have to change over the years whether one likes it or not. So, what will it take to make you happy at Christmas time?  Many of us no longer have the people in our lives that were part of our personal traditions.  Change happens.  The reasons for those changes are irrelevant.  Rather than subtracting people from my life I decided to add some new ones to it.  With those people coming into my life new traditions came along for the ride.  Whether the ride is long or short it is the upside of change.  Some friends have expressed sadness at not being able to celebrate the holiday on December 24th or 25th.  The day doesn't matter.  Christ was not born on the 25th of December.  In many parts of the United States January 6th, old Christmas, is when the holiday is celebrated.  December is simply the adjust and now accepted time of year to observe the birth of Christ, which lets us know that we can celebrate God's gift to us each day of the year.  Take joy in that.  December or January, pick your day for tradition.
    What about the gifting thing? We give gifts because God gave His Son to us.  We can't possibly top that.  You can't really give someone their heart's desire.  What you can do is give a bit of yourself to that person.  Selecting or creating a gift is a fine art that expresses how you feel toward that person.  Any stranger with lots of money can buy a person some expensive, exotic thing and what do you have for it?  Stuff with no real value.  Some of the most precious treasures I have received on Christmas came from loving relatives who hand-crafted them just for me.  The tradition of hand-making gifts is one I will continue throughout my life.  My friends have proven that valuable lesson to me.  In passed years when I had more ready cash to buy things for them, their comments came back, "Oh...you didn't make anything this year."  Point taken.
    One lesson I have learned about creating a happy Christmas is that of collecting my favorite holiday memories.  Journaling about past traditional celebrations and the people who were part of the Christmases Past is a priceless gem worth keeping.  Stories of warm family connections helps to pass the comfort and joy of personal traditions from generation to generation. Even if you have no one to whom you can pass your stories, share them with friends.  They will appreciate and enjoy then.  Comfort and joy.  It is part of creating a merry little Christmas. Many non-Christian cultures choose this time of year to share stories around bonfires of Yule logs as they celebrate the days growing long from the winter solstice on December 21st.  All these traditional efforts are meant to help us get through the dreary weather days of winter with hope of renewal and resurrection of life in the spring.  Everyone needs the hope of something better when things look cold and bleak.  We decorate with bits of greenery and colorful lights and bulbs in an effort to brighten an otherwise colorless and dreary landscape.  Comfort and joy.
   If you are down and feeling sorry for yourself at the holidays you can turn that feeling around by giving yourself away.  Do something for someone else. Quit feeling sorry for yourself.  Make a merry Christmas for another person who really needs it.  Comfort and joy.  Be the change in someone else's life and you will find that your own life with change for the better. 
    So, am I having a merry Christmas?  I put up my little tree with all its glittery lights and ornaments.  I placed little spots of decorative seasonal bits and bobs around my tiny abode.  Christmas jazz plays constantly and has been the best it has been in years.  I have been sharing Christmas memories with friends and making plans for spring container gardening for my herb collections.  New art and photos creations are blossoming for me.  As I look out the window I see, guess what....it is lightly snowing.  Gift creations will be a bit later than usual this year, but they will come.  I am fondly thinking of the recipients as I work on the gifts.  In answer to whether or not I am having a merry Christmas...I think I have achieved comfort and joy.  Merry Christmas everyone!