“There it was . . . gone!” After all of the hype, tension, shopping, Christmas cheer, decorating, anticipation, more Christmas cheer, last minute preparation, more shopping, baking, cooking and even more Christmas cheer the Happy Holiday season is over! Only the pictures, bills and a newfound tension on the beltline are proof that it actually happened at all!

The refrain: “It sure went fast!” was heard as much on the 27th of December as “Merry Christmas!” was heard on the 24th. While reflecting on all the hustle and bustle and the speed of time flying by, it is still, to me, as the song says, “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

I admit that many of us are very privileged to fully enjoy this special season while so many others are left wanting even the most basic needs in life. Empathy for those less fortunate is one of the many elements of the “True Meaning of Christmas” which every Christmas movie and TV Special’s main characters are in search of. People have been debating the “True Meaning of Christmas” as far back, or farther, than 1843 when Charles Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol”.

It is, after all, a celebration of a religious event, the birth of Christ. If “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” doesn’t renew your faith and reemphasize the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have done to you”, then, probably, not much will.

I, according to me, have a pretty decent grasp of the Christmas spirit. After scraping away the glitter and the gloss, the hype and the hyperbole it all comes down to people. People in your family, people that you grew up with, people that you work with, people you live beside, people you see every day and people you haven’t seen in years. People sharing with people, can it be as simple as that? I’d like to think so.

Yes, many of us spend too much, eat too much and drink too much but we also give a lot, hug a lot, sing a lot, play a lot and just completely enjoy the season, a lot! Should we feel guilty at the overindulgence? Perhaps, so that is why we have New Year’s resolutions!

In the New Year, we can all look forward to renewed spirituality, fitness, empathy, abstinence and quality of life improvements. And just when we’re running out of intestinal fortitude to continue our life improvements, about 17 seconds after Halloween ends, the 2007 edition of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” will begin. I can hardly wait!

“God bless us, everyone!”-Tiny Tim from “A Christmas Carol”-Charles Dickens (1812-1870).

PERRY HUBBARD
Guest Columnist