It's still a happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to you, dear Reader.

We are in the Octave of Christmas, so don't stop the party just yet.  There are still many days of egg nog ahead of us, so pace yourself and enjoy the tree.

I have noticed a growing plague among my fellow mortals: Christmas Fatigue.  This is a condition caused by preparation overkill, shopping list stress, and unachievable expectations which result in outbreaks of rash at the sound of carols and uncontrollable twitching at the sight of holly and/or ivy.

The solution to this is to forget all the la di da (not to mention the fa la la la la) and focus on Christmas.  Let's look at Christams stripped of jolly bearded men and red-nosed Rudolphs, shall we?  It is the day we remember that God keeps His promises, the day our Saviour was born.  A pretty momentous occasion, wouldn't you agree?  And yet what happened on the actual day?  A humble family in inauspicious surroundings had a baby and were visited by shepherds. Not a lot of hooplah in Bethlehem (aside from the angel choirs and the visiting kings).

Shouldn't we take our cue from the original Christmas?  Whatever it is you're doing that stresses you out and turns you off the occasion all together ... stop doing it!  Have a nice meal with loved ones.  Gifts are ok, and even enjoyable, but they needn't be extravagently bank-breaking. Essentially, lower  your expectations!  We've put Christmas on steroids and there is nothing beautiful about that.