No place like home for the holidays

It’s Christmas morning here in the Ozarks, and around the world. If the dusting of snow hasn’t melted from Christmas Eve, it’s a white Christmas, a bit of a rarity here in the hills. And if it has gone away, well, we got awfully close to a white Christmas.

When you read this, odds are your family’s already torn into the packages under the tree, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows are scattered everywhere. The youngsters in your household are playing with their new toys and games, which these days can include cell phones and an array of video games. You’ve settled back with a cup of coffee, relaxing in your new house shoes or robe, and reading the paper (maybe even on a new tablet).

Later, you’ll gather around the table for the Christmas meal and give thanks for everyone being together once more, and you’ll offer respects for any who aren’t there this year. Afterwords, there will be more fellowship, more playing with the toys and trying out new gadgets, maybe watching a game on TV, or the umpteenth showing of “A Christmas Story.” Some will feel energetic and go outside to play.

Then, this evening when things have settled down, it will be a good time to reflect on the day. It will be a chance to let today’s new memories soak in and join memories of Christmases past. Those old memories will come to the surface as you recall the particularly special Christmases — the first Christmas as a couple, the first Christmas as a parent, the first Christmas as a grandparent, the first Christmas you can remember, and, of course, the best Christmas that will stay with you forever.

And, finally, it will be back to bed, knowing that it’s been a good day.

For so many of us, that’s a typical Christmas day, whether in the Ozarks or almost anywhere in the world. It’s such a peaceful climax to the frenzied period of shopping and baking and getting prepared to celebrate. Sometimes, in all that chaos leading to today, we may not take enough time to truly appreciate Christmas and what it’s all about. There’s much more to it than gifts under a tree and egg nog.

Christmas means so many things to so many different people. No matter how you celebrate it, however, the heart and meaning of the holiday is the same. This is a day of new beginnings for each of us and for the world. Whether you celebrate it as a religious holiday or lean more toward the secular aspects, a new beginning is the key to Christmas. Next week begins the new year, but today we have the opportunity to begin new lives, to renew our spirits.

In the secular realm, many of the trappings and traditions borrowed for Christmas are rich in the symbolism of renewal, of new life, of new hope. For Christians, Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, who brought the gift of salvation, the gift of new life and new hope for all who believe. It doesn’t matter if we swap gifts among ourselves, or decorate our homes, the reason for the season, the meaning of Christmas remains.

On this special day, let’s enjoy the fellowship of family and friends, let us remember those who cannot be with us, and let us celebrate this day of renewal and hope.