Holidays

I find it intriguing that holidays are God's idea. If you read the Old Testament, a lot of the laws God made for his people involved special celebrations they were to have. A dear friend of mine, who is monastic in her worldview, rebels against the holidays. She loves the simplicity of her everyday life, the rhythm of the known and the chosen. What's so great about stress and company and expectations and extra food and spending more money? If we make healthy daily choices, where is the health in our holiday insanity?

I used to pause from my mandatory baking of gifts for everyone I know, drafting a letter to send in bulk to my closest forty friends and relatives, and scheming on three different ways to serve the community to just look at her in bewilderment. How could holidays not be GREAT? It sounds like sacrilege. Especially Christmas--does she not love Baby Jesus, or WHAT? (Everything associated with holidays should be in ALL CAPS.)

When my kids got old enough to understand the concept of "present," I began to have birthday parties for them. Inviting friends, planning fun activities, shopping for great gifts. I remember being very pregnant with Rebekah and feeling panicked that Abby should have a fantastic 6th birthday party. We had the party several weeks before Abby's birthday because I was having pre-labor contractions, and what if I had the baby and she missed her party?!! There are photos of me standing on our porch, looking like a large mammal has climbed under the front of my dress, holding the rope for a pinata, while blindfolded children swing dangerously close to the large target of my belly.

This birthday party thing began to build on itself. Every year had to be GREAT, and somehow that means "better than the year before." I would try to scale back, I would try to limit the guests, and I'm sure someone looking on would not think I was out of control. Inside, I was mounting a huge altar of expectations, on which something was sure to be sacrificed.

I really don't know if I have the birthday HOOPLAH under control. But I am enjoying holidays more, feeling less stressed and pressured. And have you noticed how often holidays happen? They pockmark our year with their presence, and no sooner do we settle into "regular life" than here one comes again.

I think they are exams that God gives us. We think we are learning all sorts of wonderful aspects of character: patience, love for fellow man, generosity, etc. We feel pretty good about ourselves. And then our regular life is interrupted for a HOLIDAY and darned if we don't look pretty lousy at one point or another. Like a student taking an exam, we discover what we do and don't know. We see the places where we still need to study. Holidays are revealing, and didn't God describe himself as a light shining in the darkness?

I hope you enjoy the spotlight this year. Don't take it too badly if you screw up somewhere along the way; you won't be alone. Like Red Green says, "We're all in this together. Keep your stick on the ice."