Regardless of our personal spiritual leanings or religious beliefs, Christmas is a special time for most of us. It is a time when families come together, enemies lay aside their differences and the world at large seems to be bathed in a sense of festive joy, generosity, love and kindness. It is a time when strangers in the shopping mall smile at each other as they pass by, when the faces of children glow with anticipation and when the whole of life seems to be more colourful, vibrant and enjoyable.
What is it about the holiday season which makes such dramatic changes in the mood, experience and perception of the population possible? Is it simply the good food, festive drink and traditional music which most of us enjoy? Or is it something else? Something deeper which anyone can enjoy regardless of their income, social standing or environment?
We hold the opinion that the key to festive cheer can be found in just one word, and that word is ‘Celebration’.
According to the dictionary, the word ‘Celebration’ is defined as: ‘The marking of something as special, often accompanied by a suspension of routine activities; The giving of thanks.’
If you think about it, all of the positive aspects of the holiday season can be attributed to the celebration of life. Even if you take away holiday entertainments, Christmas trees, rich foodstuffs and all the other incidentals, the celebration itself is still enough to put a smile on the face of most people. The power to feel good, to feel alive and joyous, is therefore nothing more than the power of celebration.
When we celebrate life, we feel good. It doesn’t matter how much income we have, what kind of house we live in or the variety of everyday problems and opportunities we face. All that matters is that we are all alive on this wonderful planet and that we are all in a position to bring some light and love into the lives of everyone around us.
The really exciting thing that I want to convey in this festive series on celebration is that this sense of aliveness, joy, love and light is not something which can only happen once each year. Not at all. It is something which can happen every day for the rest of your life.
All you need to do is teach yourself to celebrate life on a daily basis – to take time out to ‘tune in’ to the joy which is around you during every moment of every day if you would just look for it. We will look at how to do this over the course of this series.
