The word holiday originated from combining two words: holy and day. I draw on that image of sacred space when I think about ways to celebrate a holiday. Sometimes we celebrate in low-key ways; other times, we go all out. I begin my five-factored list with the “we” potion of that celebration.
Family. The first of two “we” components is getting together with family. For some holidays, like Thanksgiving (USAmerican), we extend the family to cousins, uncles, parents, and sundry others. That means everyone contributes to the meal in some way based, in part, on what we perceive as their speciality in food; Aunt Robin brings her killer Mac-n-Cheese (sadly, gluten-filled not gluten-free). Other holidays, it may be immediate family only; often that happens when it’s a three-day weekend and people can make time to travel and hangout. Hanging out is often just what we needed!
Friends. The other “we” component is gathering with folks “not-related-to-us-by-blood.”. For instance. we began our own pseudo-holiday on the eve of Christmas Eve; we loving call the pseudo-holiday Christmas Adam1 (as in “Adam and Eve” from the first book of Hebrew Scripture). If the adults/parents forget to schedule Christmas Adam, you better believe one of the children/adults will remind us. There should probably be more frequent opportunities to enjoy time with friends; sometimes one just has to create a holiday for that sole purpose!
Food. I love good food and I really enjoy sharing it with others; fortunately so do most of the folks I know. No holiday seems complete without food. Sometimes there is even a particular food associated with holiday. In my immediate family, we enjoy Cranberry Coffee Cake at Christmas and sometimes Thanksgiving (USAmerican); that breakfast food sets the day apart which makes the day feel more “holy.” We have even shared this recipe with other folks who have made Cranberry Coffeecake a go to for them on the holidays as well!
Fun. Everyone gets to define what “fun” means for them. Holidays bring out the fun and that makes “fun” a key component to the day. Sometimes, the holidays are fun simply because we are together. Sometimes they are fun because they offer a day off for relaxing. Sometimes a holiday is fun because there is an organized game, trip, or adventure.
Festive. Sometimes, there is a joyous atmosphere to a holiday. Perhaps there is some specific clothing we wear or something we do that has a religious significance. This makes the holiday different. As followers in the path of Jesus, we attend and lead worship on Christmas Eve with others in our faith community. We sing songs, tell stories, light candles, and hear an encouraging message while gathered in a holiday-themed space which gives the evening a special significance. We might dress more formally.
Family, friends, food, fun, and festive atmosphere all contribute to our holiday experiences Any one of these aspects or all of them can make a holiday celebration your own. Trying to incorporate all them all the time could be exhausting so we have to find a balance that works for us. When I think of our holidays, some of these are part of most of them. There will be times that none of these are possible on a holiday. Honestly, sometimes it is welcomed to have a quiet and uneventful day to enjoy.
I hope whatever holidays you celebrate are filled with joyous traditions. If not, I invite you to try creating some that might help you enjoy holidays more! Who knows? Maybe you will even invent a holiday just to enjoy in a special way like we did. In any case, happiest of holiday celebrations to you whatever holidays you observe!
- A pseudo-holiday created by and for Mark, Katherine, Matt, James, Linda, Hannah, and Joshua (and others, too) so we can eat good food together and enjoy each other’s company, usually celebrated on the eve of Christmas Eve, December 23. There are several apocryphal stories of how the day was actually named; none of us absolutely certain so it is veiled in mystery. ↩︎
Infinitely Precious 