Jolly Holidays
I like to celebrate holidays. I like to celebrate the way I like to celebrate which may not be the way you like to celebrate. Many of our celebrations are deeply rooted in tradition. Other celebrations are pretty sporadic depending on my mood that year.
We don't do pretend or magic. I know some people think that's terrible. I never believed in Santa as a child, and I carried that on with my own kids. We don't believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Cupid, Leprechauns, Yankee Doodle Dandy, the Labor Day Elf, or Pilgrims and Indians. I don't think it hurts our celebrations. It's been helpful for our kids to understand that their Christmas gifts aren't dependent on their behavior, but on our budget. They know that the gifts we get are representative of the love Chris and I have for them. I don't begrudge or question families who celebrate with all kinds of magic. It just doesn't fit my personality.
Like I said before, I do like our holidays to be meaningful. We are more likely to learn about St. Patrick's use of the clover to teach the Catholic belief in the holy Trinity (and compare it to the doctrine on the Godhead) than we are to dye our milk green. This last January, we were really busy on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but my oldest son reminded us to sit down together to watch "I Have a Dream." When we lived in Utah, we spent Memorial Day weekend visiting cemeteries and retelling stories of family members who have passed away. I love the patriotic tradition of watching a parade on the 4th of July.
Christmas and Easter are sacred holidays for us. I enjoy the fun of stuffing stockings and dying eggs, but we spend the majority of our efforts remembering our Savior. To me, Thanksgiving is also a sacred holiday as it is a day set aside to express gratitude to God for all He has given us. I thoroughly enjoy hosting parties, going to any kind of celebration, having an excuse to decorate, and even cooking. I don't enjoy cooking regularly, but I like the traditions of holiday food.
Some years, depending on how much energy I have that week, we celebrate some obscure holidays with gusto. Dr. Seuss' birthday, for example, is a lot of fun. I love to take little opportunities for a party. I don't feel pressured by the way other people celebrate. I don't even have a Pinterest account, so that frees me from a lot of holiday stress. (I'm kidding.)
This is my deep thought for today: I like to celebrate holidays. I choose to celebrate simply and frugally, but hopefully meaningfully. It's fun. And fun is good. (That's what Dr. Seuss said.)
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