Ah! The holiday season. For most, it is an exciting time of year that brings feelings of warmth and comfort. It is meant to be a time to enjoy a vacation from work, and a time to enjoy seeing family members. It is mostly a time though, to ponder the things in life for which we are grateful for and hey, admit it, it’s a time to anticipate getting gifts, having a little good cheer, and smiling for the first time all year! Well, at least for some. For others, it is a time to complain, a time to worry about not having enough money to buy gifts, a time to stress out because of the increasingly high traffic volume, and understandably, a time to be a great big scrooge!
Hey, the Gorilla remembers those days too! There was a time when the holidays represented stress for him as well. For many Americans, and citizens all over the world for that matter, the holidays have become so commercialized, so material, and yes, even political (holiday lawsuit, anyone?). But it was never meant to be like that. We the people, have actually made them that way. No one ever said that we have to buy ten gifts for our kids, a gift for every neighbor, a gift for our boss, and a gift for our kids’ teachers. No one ever said that we MUST send out those expensive holiday cards, or throw that expensive holiday party. For the most part, WE choose those things all by ourselves. No one is putting a gun to our head! WE put the stress in the holidays all by our own doing, and then have the nerve to complain about it!
The Gorilla wants to remind everyone to enjoy the holidays! Right now, it is Hanukkah and soon it will be Christmas. It is a time to reflect and remember to be thankful. Pay attention to your children, your spouse, your family, your friends. Don’t get carried away with the holiday “to do list”- after all, the thing your loved ones want the most (barring teens between the ages of 13-18- they DO want the goods!) is to spend time with you!
The Gorilla was in the elevator the other day just listening to the gripes of the holidays by several grouchy people. They were complaining about everything from the absence of the Christmas tree in the lobby, (not politically correct these days apparently), to what a pain it is to have to mail gifts and wait in line at the post office, and even how spoiled their kids were due to their high expectations (hey, you made em’ that way!). One woman even griped about her sickly mother-in-law having to come for a visit and how she “dreaded” it. Now, look, the Gorilla isn’t perfect and we all have problems, but really people, where’s the compassion your mother taught you to have? Where is the gratefulness for your family and friends? Happy holidays, and c’mon people, don’t forget to remember what all this “hoopla” is for! Sponsor a family in need, attend a charity event, volunteer at your local soup kitchen! THAT, my friends, is what the season is really all about!
December 12th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Gorilla, you say:
“Happy holidays, and c’mon people, don’t forget to remember what all this “hoopla” is for! Sponsor a family in need, attend a charity event, volunteer at your local soup kitchen! THAT, my friends, is what the season is really all about!”
But you’re missing TWO ELEPHANTs in the room, Gorilla. “The seasons” are Christmas and Hannukah, and what “those seasons” are “really all about” and what all the “hoopla” is for are:
Hannukah: God’s great faithfulness in keeping the Eternal light in the Temple burning for EIGHT days when there was only enough oil left to burn for ONE more day. As the Jews often say, “His Mercy endures forever!” Happy Hannukah!
Christmas: THE GIFT God gave the world when He gave His Only Son to die for our sins. God is Love, and the REASON for sponsoring families in need, attending a charity event, volunteering at a local soup kitchen, etc, IS because we are remembering the Love of God at the time of the birth of His Only Son. Merry Christmas!