Holiday Cheer

What a great season!  I love Christmas time.  All the lights, Christmas trees, the music, family and friends, the different delicious scents, and a time when most people seems to be genuinely happy about life.  I have always had a special connection to Christmas, and it isn't through the gifts, although I have received and given some pretty memorable gifts.  No, the connection I'm talking about goes deeper than that.  I'm sure you have a similar connection to a holiday, special day, or certain time of year.

My connection has to deal more with the kindness that I generally see around Christmas time.  It is around the Holidays, that you see people become more honest, and more caring about those who have less than you, or who may be going through a rough patch emotionally or financially.  It's a time when Sub-for-Santa, and the Angel Tree, and Quarters for Christmas programs are funded by the community's generosity.  I've always been touched by the tenderness of the people who secretly try to make another family's Holiday just a little brighter.

It hasn't been until the last few Christmas' that I have noticed how many times my Mom and Daddy have tried to help someone else out at these times.  Many times when I was younger I was asked to go with a sibling, or my daddy and deliver a box of oranges, or a large box (which I later found out was filled with gifts) to a house and doorbell-ditch them.  This happened almost every year with something or other, sometimes it happened a few times a year.  As I've gotten older we've given these times a name, we call it the Christmas Projects.  Every year it has become a game to get the box to the porch and back and not get caught but still be able to see their faces.  Many times I've seen these simple acts bring tears to these people's eyes.  It's heartwarming, and honestly it's something that I look forward to every year, even more than Christmas morning itself. 

It is this connection that drives my holiday cheer this evening, I can't wait to go home from college to my parents house for Christmas Break mostly because I'm excited for those times of pure joy, and the feeling that you get when you see how much a simple box of oranges can really help someone.  You see it in their face, in their tears, in their expression, and later in their actions.  It is in this small act that you honestly feel the true spirit of Christmas.  I challenge you, who ever you may be, to go out, no matter what time of year, and perform a simple, secretive action.  Create your own "Christmas Project," and it will bring you tremendous amounts of joy.