It’s that time of year.

The winds change from a cool breeze to bitterly chill. The trees shake off every last vibrantly colored leaf until their bark is entirely bare. The joyful tunes everyone knows begin to rise up into the excited atmosphere until the world silently sighs into holiday relaxation.

Why are the holidays so sentimental? Why is it that, as soon as the Christmas lights twinkle and the carolers sing, a wave of nostalgia sweeps across the world?

The holidays carry more than just beautiful frosts and gifts wrapped to sparkling perfection; the holidays carry consistency, dependability and love.

In a world which thrives on change, one of the only constants left unchanged are the holidays. Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza… these are thousands of years old and traditions that we, being utterly human, cling to. Our lives, of course, have its ups and downs. Some days we can be on top of the world and other days we can feel entirely buried beneath it. No matter how brilliant or dreadful we feel, there is one season in the year that we forget about our realities. We forget about the bad and welcome the good. Tradition inevitably seeps in and lifts our spirits… no matter how low they once were. In the midst of a hectic, stressful, crazy reality, the one thing we can depend on are the holidays.

I’ve never been a religious person; however, growing up in a Christian family, we attended the Christmas Eve service every year. And every year, I eagerly looked forward to it.

The bitter chill of the season always clung, particularly to the eve of Christmas. That, or it was just more prominently noticed by me, a Christmas fanatic who welcomed the nostalgia of the holidays with open arms. Walking into church is always the same. All the children are excited, dressed to their best in silver buckled Mary Janes and button down shirts, accompanied by flushed cheeks bitten by the cold. The adults were too dressed in their best with flushed cheeks, however they all wore quaint smiles because their hearts were full in the presence of family.

The services always began and ended with familiar songs that never failed to arouse nostalgia within the families huddled inside. Strangers come together to help light each other’s candles, beginning with one flame and passing it so the entire room’s filled with hundreds of small, orange flames. Yet, these flames weren’t the only things being passed around.

Under the high ceiling, in the middle of chorus, the most prominent thing I noticed being passed around the gathered families were looks. These, in particular, were my favorite thing to see at these services. These looks weren’t the same meaning full looks loved ones give to their significant other on any other given Sunday, these are different. They are gazes. Gazes so rare, they are only seen on the eve of a holiday like Christmas. It’s a gaze full of love and compassion, with a glint of thankfulness and adoration… to be here, on this night, in this moment, with someone who possesses a part of themselves. This gaze, is of love.

The holidays are, and will always be the best time of the year. We rely on the dependability and consistency of them, knowing that no matter what our realities may endure, the carolers and twinkly lights will always come around. The holidays are full of compassion, adoration and most importantly, love… whether it may be for a spouse, for a child, or even for a stranger… love is all around.

That is why we look forward to the holidays.