The Meaning of Christmas

At first, Christmas Spirit seemed to be lacking this year and I couldn't really put my finger on what was to blame. Was it just too damn hot on this island for Christmas? Are island people too "chill" to really get into celebrating anything? Is Christmas Spirit keeping it's distance because of the sharks? After a few weeks of pouting, I acknowledged the absence of Christmas joy was due to my own Grinchiness. I wanted my Christmas and I was out of my element.

My attempt at Halloween was so tired that I completely ignored Thanksgiving, and I only decided to put a tiny effort into Christmas a few weeks ago...and only because I was teaching US Christmas traditions in school. Listening to little kids singing Rudolph every day is bound to incite holiday cheer, even in the most Scroogy of Scrooges.

Being so far away and immersed in another culture gives me this weird "It's a Wonderful Life" feeling of watching America carry on without me. (Thanks, Facebook.) The result is a rather strange trichotomy; sometimes I'm elated to see what my family and friends are achieving. Sometimes I get really homesick. And sometimes I roll my eyes, shut off facebook as quickly as possible, and thank God I'm far far away from the USA.

Like stormy black ocean waves, every December the same kinds of posts come rolling in: which companies are saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays," which celebrities are talking/not talking about Jesus, and the ensuing rage from either or both sides. I lost count of how many times I saw that dude from Duck Dynasty's face this year, attached to some energized rant explaining why he is a Saint/Satan. It's disappointing that posts like that crawl around my facebook for weeks, while comparatively, reactions to the death of Nelson Mandela were but a few.

I remember the coolest thing I discovered when I first came to Reunion Island was that all religions live together peacefully. They share each other's holidays, they wish each other well. When one group celebrates, the rest of the island takes advantage of the excitement, spectacle and good will (and days off, when possible!)

I am always astounded by how much "correct phrasing" matters to many Americans. That the official label of happiness we wish for someone actually matters more than the happiness itself. Merry Christmas! (Is better/worse than) Happy Kwanza! (Is better/worse than) Happy Holidays! Do we not realize that the sentiment behind uttering all of these phrases is supposed to be happiness??

Jesus--like many other enlightened humans who have inspired religious followings or have taught outside of organized religion--lived and preached unconditional love. This love was so powerful that thousands of years later, a ton of people across planet Earth still use his birthday to share and demonstrate their love for the people in their lives. Whatever words we choose to use in December--Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, even gifting, Santa and "consumerism" if you want to go there--can we just all take a moment and realize that the origin behind all of it is love?

Regardless of your religious affiliation, your political party, of even if you choose to believe in Jesus--that love he represents is there for you to accept or not. It was given to all of humanity (not only Catholics, Christians, or people who believe in him) by Jesus. And Ghandi. And Buddha. And many, many others. Maybe one year, we can all agree to focus on that, letting all of the political and religious battling every December fall away? That would be a cool present.

"During this holy time, know that all times are holy, that every religion holds truth, that each tradition is sacred, and that it is in the simple sharing of love that we make our beliefs come alive, and our dreams come true. Let this Christmas Day remind us that Christ came to invite us to offer love to all humankind, and to open the door of God's kingdom to every soul." 

Neale Donald Walsh

So after some serious reflection, Christmas Spirit found me! (Despite the sharks.) We passed a sweet moment at my in-laws, mixing a little bit of American, Creole, and French traditions. We started on Christmas Eve...

the garden

First time eating meat again in over a month...I made an exception.

oyster course in the garden :-)

Mrs. Claus even stopped by!!!

Then it was time for karaoke 

At midnight we helped the rest of the island light up the sky.

And then, American style, we went straight to bed so Santa would finally come! In the morning, we opened presents and sat around the table for Round Two...

Christmas ice cream log! (?)

It was definitely a memorable Christmas.

And so, from the bottom of my heart, I am sending love and joy to every single one of you.
I truly hope that you share the most wonderful day with the people you love.