Love has been around for centuries and for longer than we know. It exists in all cultures, religions and eras. Christmas may not be celebrated everywhere, but love is. However, it’s exemplified in different ways because we have our own definitions of it. One of the most cliche questions might just be “What is love”yet it is also one of the hardest to answer. We love based on how we’re loved, and for some, they’re unaware of what love is because they’ve never received any.
The Oxford dictionary describes love as “a great interest or pleasure in something”.
My favorite description about love is that we know it when we feel it. I believe it’s a concept that we can all agree on. To some, it’s the butterflies in their stomachs, the uncontrolled racing of their hearts, or the feeling of home. And to almost each soul that’s claimed to have encountered it, it’s a great feeling. Don’t get me wrong though, love doesn’t necessarily involve two or more people. There’s love for food, power, art, nature, and even for books. Love can be for anything which is why love is everywhere. When a certain thing, thought, or place gives you that warm fuzzy feeling, it’s most probably love taking place.
Often, a lot of people wonder.
“Why does Christmas seem to be losing its essence?”
“Why is it beginning to feel different?”
“Why does it not feel as joyful as before?”
As a fellow fan of Christmas, I’d like to give my two cents on this quest for Santa. Dear reader, I assume you’re no longer a child who’s enthusiastic about every little thing in the world. If you can comprehend these words properly, then you’ve definitely learned and lived long enough to know that life isn’t as colorful as it seemed to be. You know better now, which means you either demand more or expect more. The ‘good feeling’ has become harder to encounter because there are now responsibilities and adversities to consider. Maybe, the ‘love’ for Christmas which is supposed to feel good and come out of a genuine heart has turned into a feeling of obligation which, on the contrary, doesn’t feel very nice because it stems from a burdened heart.
What if we try zooming in for a bit and take a pause from the constant sighting of the ‘big picture’? In that way, we may see and appreciate the little things again. What’s your favorite thing about Christmas? Is it grandma’s scorching hot cup of chocolate? Or the special bond you do with your cousins? Maybe it’s the cool weather or the bright lights in the streets. Whatever it is, I hope you find a way to come across it whether it’s the jolly season or not, because it doesn’t have to be a one-night bliss.
Maybe it’s valid to feel other emotions during the Christmas season. Maybe expecting it to be joyful for everyone is quite unfair since we are all living under different seasons in life. Maybe the magic and ecstasy that we deem Christmas should possess are fantasies that we create for ourselves in order to escape the chaos of life. And maybe we lose our ‘love’ for it when reality comes knocking at our door.
There’s a reason why the concept of Christmas isn’t celebrated everywhere and love is. Love is free and unconditional. It doesn’t require a huge feast or a great party. Everyone is relentlessly searching for it yet only a few are willing to give it. We’ll achieve the Christmas we all long for when we generously give our love to others without expecting anything in return. If everyone in the world started spreading love instead of looking for it, we’d all have plenty.
Love isn’t something we should look for in other people or things or places, because it’s something we can find within us. Expecting great things can leave one’s hope shattered in the end, so instead of expecting so much from others, maybe we can humble ourselves enough to make the first move in creating the domino effect of love. When love starts from you, it comes back a thousandfold. Besides, loving feels just as good as being loved.
When we zoom in, we see that Christmas isn’t about parties, gifts or traditions. It’s a call to love since it’s basically about “Christ” who Himself is love. We may not all be capable of celebrating Christmas, but the good news is that the very essence of it lives within us. Thus, we are definitely capable of spreading it whatever day it may be. And in that case, we can actually experience Christmas everyday. Anything touched with true love becomes beautiful and so if everyone can unleash the love they possess, what a spectacular Christmas we can have. Perhaps the latter is not for everyone, but the former is.
“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8