Are you like me? Do you devour Christmas books and movies, staying up late at
night to get to the end of the story?
I noticed this year that a certain popular cable channel had started
showing their holiday classics in November. So instead of rendering me useless for only the month of
December, they were now enticing me to spend an additional month glued in front
of the set. And I admit, the idea
was tempting. That's when I asked,
what is it about Christmas stories that make
them so appealing?
Christmas is a
special time of year.
There's a magical quality surrounding us at Christmastime. It's when we think of family and loved
ones, and even if we are busy in our day-to-day lives, we make time to
celebrate our holiday traditions with them. As we count our blessings we're reminded to help those in
need. It's the season of giving after
all, and we're in the mood to spread cheer. We're also in the mood to decorate. In our eagerness to create a festive,
magical atmosphere we may go overboard with lights, decorations, baking,
Christmas carols, and wrapping paper.
All of which contributes to our merry frame of mind.
Christmas stirs our
emotions.
It's an emotional time of year. It's hard keeping up with those family traditions, and who
does all the work and who does all the complaining? Those pleasant family gatherings can become a minefield for
unsettled disputes. Skeletons can
break out of closets, old resentments stirred, or new bombshells
delivered. (Good fodder for
stories). But because it's
Christmas, we're willing to facilitate closure. We're open to healing those old wounds.
Christmas makes us believe
in miracles.
It's the season for unexpected surprises. Sure we all like the surprises under the
tree, but those aren't the surprises that create Christmas magic. The magic comes from gifts that have no
price tag. The gift that seems to come
right when we need it most: a family doomed to shatter finds the way to stay
together, a loved one in a coma miraculously awakes, and even the lost puppy
who gets found and returned to his family. It's that kind of magic that makes us believe peace on earth is possible. Maybe all our decorating is our way of
inviting magic into our homes.
Christmas stories
give us hope.
Christmas is also the season of hope. If we are all thinking warm thoughts
about our loved ones, giving and helping others in need, keeping a merry
attitude, ready and willing to resolve old wounds, and witnessing divine assistance
from someone upstairs, how can we not feel hopeful? Hope is an essential ingredient to our well-being, and the season encourages hope.
The appeal of
Christmas Stories
How does all this relate to the power of Christmas books and movies? It's through their past
and upbringing, emotions, and belief in miracles and hope that lead characters
to discover what matters most in their lives. They learn to share the importance of the season and to make
room in their hearts for others. Those
stories hit home. Maybe we too,
need to rediscover these things in our own lives. Some characters have a tougher transformation than others,
but its Christmas remember? And
I think that everyone truly, deep down wants to believe in Christmas magic.
I'm such an admirer of Christmas stories that I've written one of my own. Hot Hawaiian Christmas is my newly released novella. Check it out here: http://amzn.com/B00QNR29NK
Right on the mark on every point, Victoria. Christmas and the stories about it bring out the best in us. And I'll definitely check out your new novella. A Hot Hawaiian Christmas is exactly what's needed on a cold, grey day in Pennsylvania. Good luck with the book.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy. It's my favorite time of year. Oh, Hot Hawaiian Christmas will definitely heat up your holidays :-)
ReplyDeleteVictoria--