Happy Christmas

Such a difficult year.

So much out of the ordinary and out of our control.

As I tried to get excited about Christmas, I wondered:

How could Christmas be as it should be, MERRY, when almost nothing in 2020 has been as it should have been?

Festivity? Gaiety? High spirits? At the close of a brutal year? It felt like too much to hope for.

But then my daughters had a bright idea. Instead of going for normal in a year that has been anything but normal, why not do something different? They suggested we have a British Christmas—ala Charles Dickens . . . with roast goose and figgy pudding, and maybe even some wassail. The idea of changing our menu and a few of our other traditions sounded like fun.

We began doing research and making plans, and I started to feel enthused. After ten months of changes over which we’ve had very little control, making deliberate changes . . . ones we could control, felt really good.

And since it’s definitely been a “stiff upper lip” kind of year, going British seemed fitting.

Then, when I remembered that in the United Kingdom they say “Happy Christmas” instead of “Merry Christmas,” our plans made even more sense.

If aiming for an exuberant, over-the-top holiday wasn’t in the cards this year, aiming for a pleasant and contented one could be.

Maybe adding peaceful and thankful was do-able too.

And so that’s what we’re doing—and that’s what I’m expecting.

I hope you are too.

Have a very Happy Christmas,

and may God bless us, every one.

Photo by S & B Vonlanthen via Unsplash