Christmas Blessings: Musings and Reflections

Snow is falling fast outside, large, white flakes drifting down in the darkening night. The world is covered in a blanket of white. The streets are covered. The roads and sidewalks are covered. The trees are covered with a layer like powdered sugar; there is snow covering the tops of the roofs. It is a winter wonderland outside, quiet, peaceful, beautiful. 

This winter has been pretty quiet for me. No vacations, no extended relatives visiting, no elaborate parties. Just simple days, with occasional little trips with my family, hanging out with friends, and a couple music performances—and simple nights, with the snow frosting the windows, and Christmas lights glowing in the darkness. 

Two weeks ago, my family and I went to a place where we got to experience an old-fashioned Christmas. There were pine woods all around, and the roads were dirt and gravel. We did fun holiday activities there: wreath-making, horse-drawn wagon rides, caroling. We listened to people tell Christmas stories, saw a blacksmith working at his forge, looked at little shops that sold what shops would have sold in the nineteenth century.

I think my favorite part was seeing the Christmas traditions of different European cultures. There were houses, and I got to go inside and see how different families with backgrounds from countries such as Germany, Ireland, England, and Czechia might have decorated like, what they might have cooked for Christmas dinner, how they would have celebrated the holidays.

What struck me most was how homely and cozy these houses felt. The people who lived in houses like these in the 1800's didn’t have expensive, fancy heating systems to warm their homes in the bitter winter. They didn’t have piles upon piles of presents beneath a glorious tree. Many of the houses were too small to even contain a Christmas tree. 

And this is something I’ve been thinking about about. Weren’t they, too, celebrating? Of course they were. But what were they celebrating—what caused them such joy? They weren’t rich. They weren’t powerful, or influential, or bursting with fancy achievements.

What were they celebrating? 

I'm sure you know the answer. It is the same reason why many of us celebrate Christmas today. They were celebrating the blessings God gave them: their family, their home, music, friends, beauty, love, life. . . and a gift that God has granted us all. 

We don’t need to be all materialistic to be happy, truly happy. To be happy, we don’t need a new electric bike, a new phone, and dozens of wrapped presents. Christ came to earth to free us, to bring us true peace, love, and joy.

When will we feel satisfied? 

I think that we have all that we need.

Wherever you are, and whatever your year has been like, may God bless you this season. A merry Christmas to you!!

-Julie

(P.S. A couple days ago, I wrote a short post for a friend of mine, about the Christmas spirit, and  the magic and heart of the Christmas season. You can check that post out here: Advent Day 8: Julie. Merry Christmas!)