At the beginning of December most of us are filling in our plans for celebrating Christmas – who we’ll be staying with, who is coming to us, which gatherings we will be part of, which places and events we will go to… or avoid.  But we are not quite at Christmas yet so there is still time to think about what separates a ‘good’ celebration from the rest.  Here are some ideas –

  • A good celebration is full of delight, it makes the most of our capacity to enjoy life and to enjoy to company of others.  As such, it takes place in a spirit of thankfulness for the things we cherish.
  • In a good celebration we set time set apart and we mark that time by choosing some particular things to do that make it special.
  • A good celebration makes us pause and live in the present moment.  For as long as it takes, we leave on one side regrets about the past and worries about the future: it reminds us that this moment is a gift.

So as my family and I make plans for Christmas, we’ll be focusing on the things we cherish, the things we will do to make the time special and how our celebration reminds us that this moment – and the whole of our lives – are a gift from God.

Celebration is returning with open arms and thankful hearts to our Maker.
(Sara Wenger Shenk, Why not Celebrate!)

With my prayers and best wishes for your celebrations around the birth of the Christ Child.

Alison