Holiday Celebrations

 Good morning and thanks for listening to this Thursday Thought, which is being sent out on Wednesday, as tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.

 These holidays always are a tug of emotions for me.  As an adult, I never really went overboard in celebrating any holiday, and still don’t.  However, these days always bring back an ocean of memories of holidays past as a child and teen, along with a certain melancholy feeling that refuses to go away.  Maybe that’s the reason I don’t go “all in,” so to speak in celebrating these days.

 Those past memories are always pleasant.  We never had family quarrels or other such issues during the holidays; many times it was quite the opposite.  As a child, I was able to reconnect with both sides of the family…aunts, uncles, cousins, and so on.  There was plenty of conversation, plenty of food, games and just general togetherness.  I enjoyed listening to the adults in their conversations catching up on what was happening in their lives, and I enjoyed hanging out with cousins.

 As for that melancholy feeling, well, I suppose it has to do with those pleasant memories and the truth that those times with those people will never come around again.  Oh, I know we continue to gather together as family during these holiday times, and it is truly a joy to be with siblings, nieces, nephews, and grands.  But there was something about those times long ago…those times when families would pile into a 1960 Chevy and drive a thousand miles over two-lane roads to be with their loved ones for a few days.  Or maybe they would catch the train from Oregon and someone in the Kansas family would pick them up at the station.  We’d find accommodations for them in one of our homes and the next several days would be days of re-connection, good food, good conversation, and pleasant dreams.

 As a young single adult, I worked at a job which required me to pull shifts on most holidays.  Those days quickly became just another day at work, and I lost much of the, shall we say “magic” of the holidays.  I think that experience has carried over many decades later in my not being especially excited about any of the holidays.  Yes, I participate.  Yes, I am happy to be with loved ones.  Yes, I think about the meaning of the holidays.  But in all seriousness, most holidays could come and go and just let me go on with my day.

I’m reminded of what Paul the apostle said about holidays.  In Romans 14, Paul is talking about passing judgment on others for what they may or may not do.  One of those things is the celebration of certain “days,” or holidays.  These days were many times connected to a religious practice or faith.  He said this to those who were reading this letter:  “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Not all of us are in a giddy frame of mind, excited for the coming of the holiday season.  Some of us celebrate the days, but do so in more of a contemplative way.  Some of us have to work those days and can’t celebrate in any meaningful way.  Others of us really enjoy the days, and go “all in” to celebrate.  We make special plans to be with family and friends.

However it is that you think of and celebrate the holidays, know that it’s OK.  You are unique.  You have a unique personality, a unique world view; a unique outlook on life and living.  How you choose to celebrate the holidays…or not…is a choice that should be yours to make.  I would urge you, however, to take part in the upcoming holiday season in some way that is meaningful to you and provides you with pleasant thoughts and activities.  The world is in such a state that humans of good will need times to consider the good, the right, and the lovely.

As my best childhood friend Karl Detweiler said during this holiday season several years ago as he battled stage four cancer,  “Don’t forget the One to whom we all are to be thankful.  If we have a warm place to sleep, live in a part of the world without war, and have clean drinking water, we are among the very top of the richest people in the world.  May we all live with gratitude for what we have been given.”

 Blessings,