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Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent
Christmas is a time to reflect upon the past
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
As Christmas 2003 rapidly approaches (it always seems to come upon us so quickly) I have decided to forgo the personal Christmas story that has, over the years, become an annual Yuletime tradition of this column. Not that it has any less meaning for me but only that it has been told enough times and I do not wish it to become, in any fashion, a tawdry or tedious twice-told tale.Nevertheless, I do feel that the Christmas season should be a time when one spends a bit of time in thoughtful reflection. After all, if one does not do a little reflection at Christmas time, when will one?
I cannot but help think that ,throughout time, this time of year has caused many a man and woman to stop, evaluate, contemplate the past year and reflect upon all Christmas pasts. After all, is an unexamined life worth living?
At this time of year, I choose to believe that I am thinking much the same thoughts as someone in my age and position must have thought fifty years ago, a hundred years ago or even two hundred years ago. I speculate that those reflections revolved, and still revolve, around family, friends and loved ones and the experiences that were shared in Christmases past with these cherished ones
It is a time to recall with bitter sweet reverie, the Christmas memories of those who meant so much to us in Christmases long gone but not forgotten. It is a time to remember those parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers , sisters, children or lost friends who brought to life the true spirit of Christmas. It is a time to remember those who are no longer with us in body but reside within us, stronger than ever, in spirit at this time of year.
It is a time to remember those who instilled within us the true meaning and spirit of Christmas. Without exception, I would speculate that it is not a gift nor any material manifestation that we recall. Rather I would venture a guess that it is probably the sound of a grandfather's voice raised in laughter, a grandmother's heartfelt kiss, an aunt's gentle, well-meaning scolding or a father's slightly embarrassed smile that we remember and cherish as our most precious gifts.
When we were young, we foolishly thought that those people who created our vision of Christmas would always be with us and as a result we took them for granted and, as a result, probably never gave back to them the same Christmas "gifts" that they gave to us. Oh, we may have bought them expensive gifts, anguished over the material object that we thought would make them happy but failed to realize that it was not those gifts that they longed for nor desired.
They wanted to see us happy, full of the Christmas spirit, brimming with love, passionate and compassionate. They wanted us to include them in our Christmas thoughts as they had so unselfishly done for us. They wanted to revel in the Christmas joy that they could see that we were hopefully passing on to our own children .
In the past, Christmas gifts were, of necessity, simpler, fewer and yet much more personal and, I speculate, much more valuable. They came from the heart and represented our most valuable gifts – time, thought and effort. In to-day's world, it is so easy to quickly and, without a great deal of thought, purchase an expensive gift for someone and justify its value by its monetary worth.
Unfortunately, it is not until middle age or possibly old age comes creeping upon us that we manage to see through the mists of time, corporate slogans and meaningless Christmas materialism. It is only then that our thoughts return to those Christmas seasons from our near and distant pasts.
It might be the memory of a moon struck skate on a Christmas Eve pond, a clumsy Christmas kiss from a teenage love in a snow-filled deserted park, a hug from a loved one on their last Christmas eve they would share with you or maybe it was simply the meeting of eyes after a midnight service with a stranger that uttered no words but said so much.
The true Christmas spirit does not come in a box, from a store nor is it that which you can grasp in your hands nor confine to a cupboard. It is a feeling, a sharing, or maybe it is only a memory. A memory of a time that we did not appreciate or understand when it occurred but one that we have been valiantly and vainly trying to relive, recapture and a reclaim for a life time. It is a feeling not new to the world nor singular to our generation. It is a timeless quest that has possessed mankind since the first Christmas and one that will haunt us all until our last Christmas.
From the Gilbert home to yours – we wish you a Merry Christmas and may you, this Christmas season, create memories that will last a life time and, more importantly, may you appreciate then now rather than later.
Jim and Lisa Gilbert are local, national and international award winning educators and historians.
