Christmas Beginnings

Everyone has a key moment when for them the Christmas season has officially begun.

For some it is the day after Thanksgiving when 3:00 AM finds them in line outside of Target waiting for what the stores claim are the best prices of the year. Others find their moment in the first Christmas carol sung on the radio.

Families may welcome the arrival of the season on the day they purchase and decorate the tree. Individuals who are religious may rely on the appearance of the nativity scene in their church of choice.

For me the season officially begins when I witness the first heated debate concerning the list of invitees for Christmas dinner.

Call me old fashioned or naïve but it has always been my belief that Christmas dinner should be the most inclusive of meals. Thanksgiving for me is a day of reflection and celebration within the bonds of the extended family.

Christmas however is a feast. A celebration of God’s family. I cannot remember a Christmas from my childhood where there was not a place set for someone who might otherwise have been alone. For me the very spirit of Christmas is reflected in the eyes of someone who has been included in the feast.

Apparently a percentage of my family and friends do not agree. In recent years the holiday has become more exclusive than inclusive.

“We just cannot invite X and her husband this year. Remember how drunk she was last year.”

“Invite Y but tell her that only her biological children are invited not her step children. She can be so selfish. Her children have to put up with their step brother and sister all year the least she could do is send off to their relations for one night.”

“L can come but only if he leaves that floozy of a girlfriend at home.”

“I know that last year we had T and the kids here but after the argument we had I just do not want to be around them.”

The list goes on and on.

I find it to be disingenuous of those I call my extended family to greet the holidays with anger and spite but dress up in their finest to exclaim Merry Christmas to those who pass muster.

For me Christmas will always be a time of great joy but my smile may be tinged with a touch of sadness for those ego left behind.