Imperfect Christmas

Every year I find myself with an internal conflict over the celebration and preparation of Christmas. There seems to be this pressure to create the “perfect holiday season” and society certainly plays into this. The day after Thanksgiving my kids are eager to pull out all the Advent and Christmas decorations to bedazzle our home in colors of red and green, so we don’t wait till the last minute. The HOA urges the neighbors to compete in holiday light shows, while department store ads encourage the more decorated your homes and the more presents under the tree, will make you the most accomplished at pulling off the perfect season.

If we do all these things, this will make us happy and fulfilled, and it will bring the most joy to our world. Achieving this feat can seem impossible when you focus on whose house should host or how the perfect tablescape should look -- even more so when a family tradition changes or doesn’t meet the expectations of years prior.

But what happens when the tinsel and the stockings aren’t enough? How do we achieve the perfect Christmas when the decorations or presents just don’t seem to cover up death, loneliness, job loss, divorce, family fights, estrangement, or even addiction?

How do we navigate this so-called merry and magical time that commercials and movies convey?

As I approach another celebration of Christmas, my expectations of this coming season have changed— thanks to a series of very imperfect Christmases. Everything that has happened still does not change my expectations of what makes Christmas "perfect." If I genuinely want to look at what has changed me the most, I need to look at the first Christmas.

Jesus was born into poverty: no tinsel, no holiday wreaths; instead, an animal trough as a bassinet. No aromas of holiday baking—the smell of barn and livestock surrounded Mary, Joseph, and the Newborn King. There was no tree or chimney to hang their stockings. The only holiday light show was the star of Bethlehem; their only family? Strangers from neighboring fields with sheep or knowledge of the stars.

Jesus' imperfect entry into the world created more joy, more fulfillment, and so much wonder that it exceeds all other Christmases from then on.

So, when I think of the first Advent and Christmas, I can remember that my expectations have already been met, and I try to sift through all the distractions to get to the heart of this season.

How can you draw on the imperfections of the first Christmas to help meet your expectations?

Copyright 2021 Andrea Bear
Images: Canva Pro