Tales of Christmas

 

There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas....Would that Christmas lasted the whole year through, and that the prejudices and passions which deform our better nature were never called into action among those to whom, at least, they should ever be strangers.

"Christmas Festivities" by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is synonymous in everyone's mind with the tale of A Christmas Carol, but he also wrote other tales of ghostly Christmas explorations and inter-relationships amongst people with themes of morals, want and greed, human feelings amidst suffering. If one considers the time period in which he wrote (London in the 1840s) when the moral and ethical views of a culture had slid sideways into a selfish indulgence seeking independence of self and enlightenment from the religious views, the idea of selfless giving and the spirit of Christmas was not a widespread acceptable notion of the time. Dickens's writing are important because they introduce such ideas and stories that foster a change in the human spirit, which has continued through generations to us today.

I have been curling up with Dickens each night to explore this world he creates in his stories, mixing paradox, delight, terror, and deception set in a rather dreary reality in order to (in his words) "awaken some loving and forbearing thoughts, never out of season in a Christian land."

There is something about Christmas time that opens our hearts to the lives of others - but it all moves by so swiftly and we sometimes miss the chance to truly embrace why we celebrate it. We attend events, concerts, meetings, parties, dinners. We exchange gifts with friends, family, and give to other in various ways in the community. Often in our modern times we are so consumed with activity we rarely have time to actually ponder the meaning and beauty of the Advent season and then it's gone and a whole new year quickly takes over with getting back to it.

I am no expert in this practice, but I am trying to embrace a slower season, looking into the deeper meaning of the aspects of Christmas we tend to gloss over. Reading good books that offer wisdom far greater than my own is what helps me get into the true spirit of Christmas. Sure, there are other ways to get into the commercial spirit - you know - shopping for gifts, wrapping gifts, and listening to Christmas music. While those things help me think of others and let me recall a favourite tune to hum they are not generally reaching into that deep spot in the soul in need of the truths offered by the gift of Jesus. That is where the true soul shaping and deep meaning takes root and establishes its place of residence, so the spirit of Christmas never does go out of season.