It has come again. Carols and Christmas songs permeate the air once more as we prepare for another season of feasting, family, and furious gift-finding.

Just the other day, I attended a Christmas ceremony at a local township that really sparked my interest. It was small. It was quaint. But each part of it was uniquely amazing.

From the gathering in the town hall to listen to and sing with a high school group, to the wagon ride with Santa and tree-lighting ceremony, I was enthralled by the proceedings of the small town which I decided to visit.

That’s just one part of the Christmas season that I absolutely enjoy.

Here are a few others:

• Driving around on Christmas Eve and Christmas day looking at all the light displays which people have decided to put up.It just makes my day when my whole family piles into cars and drives through the town looking for especially spectacular set ups.
• Sipping hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies with the family. It’s so fun watching classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone while cozied up with everyone in the small space we call our TV room.
• Staying up late to attend a candlelight Christmas Eve service. I absolutely love going with the family to attend the late-night Christmas Eve service at our local church because singing Christmas carols in the candlelight is the best thing in the world.
• Attending a Christmas pageant. Whether I choose to go with friends or with family, going to a church or another venue to watch a Christmas show or pageant is a must. I love seeing what people put together to tell the various stories of Christmas which permeate our society (from Santa Claus, to A Christmas Carol, to the story of Christ’s birth).
• Participating in Christmas choir concerts and singing along to carols on the radio. Oh, and of course, I have to include music somewhere in the mix of the Christmas season. As a choir member, it is my especial pleasure to present to everyone who will listen the joy of the Christmas season. From traditional carols to modern remixes, the variety of music which we perform at Christmas is a sight to behold, and a sound to be heard.As a car-enclosed caroler, I absolutely love singing along to every single song that celebrates the joy and hope which we treasure as a part of Christmas. Let me tell you, if you sit in the car with me, you will most likely hear me sing. Deal with it.Music is life.And life a musical.
• And finally, the opening of gifts on Christmas morning. Sometimes you know what you’re getting. Sometimes it’s a surprise. Either way, the anticipation is great, the happiness of finding out what you got so much greater. I don’t even fully care what I get, as long as I know what I got came from someone I love and who loves me. If the gift is given with love and thoughtfulness, it’s the greatest in the world.I even once kept a gift that said I didn’t get anything that year (it was cheaply made but hilariously given). That year I also got a bike, but that is neither here nor there.

Anyways, I sincerely hope that as you ease into this new season of Christmas, maybe you will share some of the joy that I have. I know that some are struggling with loss, as it is the first Christmas without a special loved one, but I pray that they may in some way find a reason to celebrate.

Also, I pray that we may, in one way or another, be able to meet a need in the lives of others. Whether that means donating new or gently used items to various charities around town, or visiting those stuck in prison or nursing homes, giving a little of ourselves could mean the world to another human being.We don’t know what people are going through, and it’s important to remember that not everyone is blessed with a happy, whole, or healing Christmas season. Let us spread a little of that to someone else.

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful rest of your day.