What is Christmas to me?

There seems to be a strange amount of conflict surrounding Christmas these days. Every is stressed and angry about money or religion or any number of things. These are legitimate things, but I do wish there were less of it.

I love Christmas. I love the decorations (especially the lights), I love wrapping gifts, and picking out the best presents I can for those I love. I love giving people something that they want or need or love. And yes, I do love getting presents too, but that’s not a big part of Christmas to me. I love the food! The seasonal treats and big dinners both. I love that family and friends come together a little bit more often around Christmas than the rest of the year. I love the music. Those songs that we’re only “allowed” to play during this one season, that are beloved for one reason or another. The fun ones and the serious ones. The ones that evoke emotions of joy or worship or, yes, even sadness.

Why concentrate on how we hate the commercialism and the pressure and the obnoxious songs that we can’t seem to escape? We can let those things make us miserable, or we can instead focus on those things we love. Think about the acts of kindness. Think about how, regardless of religion, the season tries to inspire us to be better.

Did I mention I love wrapping presents? I love ribbon. Seriously, whoever invented ribbon was a genius. My cat agrees with me.

What do you love about Christmas?