It's over. Doesn't it always seem sad that after weeks of preparation, Christmas just...ends? I was used to the clock radio waking me up with a Christmas hymn (or "Dominick the Donkey"). And now it's back to the same old rock music and silly morning shows.
People are already throwing out Christmas trees and taking decorations down. It seems as though Christmas never happened, although if I look around, I see the pile of presents, or turn on my digital camera, and there's the evidence.
Even if it's a feeling of relief that the cooking and entertaining is over, doesn't it feel surreal? Anticlimactic, perhaps?
It seems that Faith Hill's "Where are you, Christmas?" would be appropriate here. The song was first sung by a little girl in "How the Grinch stole Christmas." I guess everyone knows that, but I never actually saw the film since I was kind of loyal to the book and the old animated version.
Just like a child may be disappointed by the gifts and treats ending, the passing of a holiday can always leave a feeling of emptiness, if there's nothing permanent left for everyday life.
I like the end of the song, where it says, "The joy of Christmas /Stays here in silence /Fills each and every heart with love." That seems like the right idea to cling to. When the chaos is over, joy and (more importantly) love remain.
We have always tried to celebrate the twelve days of Christmas in some form... Tonight, for example, we are having our turkey! And I'm about to carve it. It certainly SMELLS like a holiday here!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I usually try to still do Christmasey stuff during the week between Christmas and New Year's to savor the holidays.
ReplyDeleteSpreading it out over several days is a good idea. Then there's not as much pressure on one day, plus it lasts longer. I was glad that our church still had a Christmas-related service on Sunday.
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