by J. G. Chalfant-Popp

Created on: November 18, 2008   Last Updated: January 12, 2009

"And so it is Christmas and what have you done?" John Lennon

Did you find yourself in the ER needing a dose of oxygen after opening up December's credit card statement? Duked it out with the old lady who grabbed the all important video game your kids couldn't live without, or kicked the dog when he left a present of his own under the live tree you spent 6 hours decorating? Did you wonder if the guy in the checkout aisle was referring to you when he said "fruit cake?" If you are nodding your head to any of these, then you might be suffering from a case of Scrooge-itis and may need a good shot of True Christmas Spirit. No, I am not referring to the kind of shot you'd find in your liquor cabinet or the one in the barrel of a 38 revolver. ( Although, after spending Black Friday with 60,000 maniac shoppers, these ideas may sound very appealing.) I'm talking about something deep within. Something in the days of Christmas Past that motivated you to subject yourself to this ritualistic mayhem of "goodwill towards, who did I need to shop for?"

To understand what True Christmas Spirit is, we must first define what it is not. It isn't brandied eggnog, the 4,000 lights you meticulously put on your house to outdo your neighbor, or the pink bunny slippers you received by mistake from Aunt Josephine. It's not the smokin' deals you got at Walmart or even those outrageous office Christmas parties. True Christmas Spirit is a feeling of genuine kindness, concern, and love for others. The gifts themselves are nothing more than a token of how we feel and expressing our gratitude for the people in our lives. Without those feelings we transform ourselves into materialistic machines that run on too many sugar cookies, short circuiting as we shop for that forgotten gift, while reacting to the whims and expectations of others. We become overwhelmed, ill-tempered and then over compensate for the guilt we feel. Nothing like adding a 42 inch HD TV to go with that eggnog.

So, where is that True Spirit of Christmas and why has it eluded us?

Maybe it's time we look to the past by remembering that one magical moment that made Christmas all worth it.

Was it the time you were finally tall enough to put the star on the top of the tree that made you think of that First Christmas in Bethlehem? Or that freezing, cold night when you noticed the homeless guy in front of the mall you purchased a blanket for while you were in Macy's? Maybe it was the joy you felt when you watched your kid donate his last dollar to the Salvation Army lady ringing the bell in front of the grocery store. Was it your granddaughter performing in her first Christmas Pageant, while a little boy with the crooked halo sang, "Silent Night," off key? Or when you were stationed overseas and ate beans and weenies for Christmas dinner with your service buddies? Could it have been when someone anonymously gave you a some money to buy Christmas gifts for your children when you weren't able to find work? Or was it the time you were far from home and some one you didn't know very well invited you over for Christmas dinner? What ever it was, clasp it tight as the madness begins. For these are the things that the True Spirit of Christmas is made of and I say, "God Bless it."

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