Remember Christmas 2020?
As I stood in what seemed to be a snail’s pace going through a Hobby Lobby check-out line, I couldn’t help but notice this jammed-packed “Christmas” store. Shelves upon shelves of every color of Christmas you would want – white, pink, blue, green, turquoise, or traditional red. And every style you would want – country, contemporary, Grinch, seaside, or traditional. But even more to revel in was the number of people there, without masks, and certainly not social distancing. This is not 2020. Thank God! Not that we still don’t take precautions amid the virus concerns that remain.
In that line, I had time to reflect on the difference of 2021’s Christmas and 2020’s. Remember? Many families stayed home at Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2020 to avoid spreading the virus. Christmas wasn’t cancelled, but for many, it felt like it. We were still wearing masks habitually and kept our distance from people outside our family units. Those who normally headed over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house – didn’t go because they didn’t want to inadvertently give grandma COVID. Christmas caroling was a way to spread the virus, so even caroling came to a screeching halt.
Traditional, festive holiday parties were cancelled. Christians missed the sights and sounds of Christmas pageants and of gathering in sacred space to mark that holy time. There was even six feet of social distancing from Santa and his guests at malls – and those Santa photos? Santa and the kids wore masks. Here are photos I found from 2020’s Santa photos: bubbles, drive-bys, and virtual visits. This year my friends are posting their Santa photos with the children closely surrounding Santa. They are so happy to have their traditional Santa photos again.
Yes, there was a lot to mourn last year. Too many people we knew passed on because of Covid and we even watched their funerals online from afar. We missed the joy of being together with friends and loved ones; we missed hugs and cookie swaps and the sharing of holiday cheer. It all felt different because it was different.
I remember seeing the headline “Christmas Canceled for Millions.” But, then and now — that’s not how Christmas works. As the classic Dr. Seuss story, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, reminds us, Christmas can’t be canceled.
The point of my blog today is no different than last year as I shared that Christmas is a state of being – being in the moment of the very essence of the celebration: love entering the world in human form. That love may show up in a stable, but it’s up to us to bring that love into our own lives and then share it with the world. Love simply cannot be canceled.
Not that everything is perfect this year, we still don’t live in a Hallmark Christmas movie where there is always a predictable and happy ending. But, still God sees our struggles and enters into them by walking right alongside us. God takes all that is not ideal in our lives — the loneliness, the brokenness, the fear, the heartbreak, the grief — and through relationship with us, transforms it into a loving, liberating, life-giving hope.
Wherever and, however, you celebrated Christmas last year and now this year when we are out and about more, I pray it will ultimately still be about love. Not the sentimental kind, but the transformative kind that triumphs over every fear. The kind that reminds us that God delights in us simply for who we are, even when we’re feeling down or imperfect or overwhelmed. Because it’s not just true that God loves us, it’s the most amazing truth there is.
So while things may still be different and you may still be social distancing from family and friends or you are reunited this year, nothing ultimately changes. Christmas in our hearts can be merry and bright when we realize that the Light of all Lights shines brightly and He never has or ever will social distance from us! Merry Christ in Christmas, dear friends!