Approaching Christmas With a Shift in Attitude

This is a Turkish roadside merchant near the ruins at Ephesus trying to lure us to buy our scarves and purses from him--best price--during my recent trip. I wish I had as many of the roadside merchants did ultimately prove to have the best prices versus the larger city merchants in the highly touted bazaars.

But, I’m using this photo to illustrate that I’m bound and determined not to get enmeshed in my yearly rant about the commercialization of Christmas rather than another travelogue entry.

This, my 70th Christmas, has threatened to suck me into its crazy-making vortex. Ever since my grandson moved in August, however, I knew the time had come to scale back Christmas. I don't have the oomph or physical strength anymore to pull it off like I used to. And, it isn’t healthy to drag around negativity about a holiday that symbolizes the birth of Christ just because the real meaning of the season has been blown out of proportion in the culture. Technically, that’s not my problem. As “A Course in Miracles” says, “Choose again.”

The first decision I made was that for the first time in my adulthood, my tree will be smaller. It's time to let go of my perceived Christmas deprivation of childhood because my dad was the biggest “Bah Humbug” of them all. I’ve been overcompensating for the last 50 years. I said I was going all out for “you” or for “them,” but I’ll admit I was doing it for myself all this time.

It was my intent to seriously consider buying an artificial pre-lit tree for the first time, no larger than 5 or 6 feet. After checking out at least six stores and the Internet, I found that artificial trees come smaller than 4.5 feet or larger than 6.5 feet and the boxes weigh so much I wouldn’t have been able to get it out of the car (or maybe even into the car) by myself. And, I quickly found that they lack that utterly enchanting fragrance of forest. Tonight, out of the blue, and I am not an impulsive person by nature, I checked out the live trees at Lowe’s and Home Depot. It’s so early that the lots were virtually empty—and the tree choices were incredible. I got a beautiful 5 foot Noble for $20 and it’s in the yard resting in my outdoor fountain until I have a block of time to deal with it. I have never bought a tree this early or this small, but I used this purchase to herald my positive shift in attitude.

On Saturday I’ll drag it into the house and begin decorating it—with an intent to remember what this season was meant to be about. I’ll begin my Advent season with my tiny tree, my Advent wreath, and I’ll dig around for one of the nativity scenes, and throw in some candles and a Santa or two. I’m giving all my outdoor decorations (automated deers, trees, outdoor lights) to my daughter, and this year the multiple boxes of bears, dolls, angels and 50 years of accumulated Christmas will largely stay in the garage. One entire wall of shelving in my garage is devoted to Christmas. Sigh. Times, they are a changing.

My story may seem mundane and petty to you, but to me I have made a monumental life shift. So, let Advent begin!