“Wintry Warmth” is the seventh of eight Christmas articles received from Wayne High School students. Three of them were published in The Byway’s most recent December print paper. All will be featured online.
Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays, especially in the West. It’s seen as a time of warmth during a freezing winter season. Oftentimes we mistake the holiday for being a “gift-receiving” month, when it is much more than that. It’s something you unfortunately only realize when you’re older when “Santa” is just a memory, and Christmas just “doesn’t feel the same anymore.” Unlike in the past, this is not just a religious holiday, either. Diverse cultures and religions all celebrate Christmas in their own way. It’s the appreciation of the holiday itself and what it stands for in the human heart. It is the warmth of liquid chocolate, the feeling of seeing the white landscape, and the red-green lights filling the streets. That’s what is special about Christmas, the blend of hot and cold. Despite nature’s lack of life during the wintertime, for us it’s one of the liveliest times of the year. We decorate our home, sing our favorite holiday songs, and see our loved ones.
Obviously the morning of Christmas is exciting, but it’s less about receiving and more about giving. The feeling of giving begins well before the actual day, as we plan what our family and friends will receive. Going out shopping in crowded malls for gifts, and seeing the almost chaotic energy is special on its own. After you return home with your gifts and wrapping paper, feeling the pretty, cleanly wrapped package in your hands despite it not being for you ignites excitement like no other. Adding ribbons, stickers, and letters turns your purchases from items into presents.
This is all for the West, of course. Gift-giving is popular everywhere, but the meaning of Christmas itself also changes from country to country. In Japan, Christmas is not a family holiday. It might be for the majority who adopt American traditions, but more so than that it is a holiday for lovers. You’ll often see the Japanese streets on Christmas day crowded with couples, holding treats and Kentucky Fried Chicken in their arms.
It doesn’t matter who celebrates it and how, the heart is what Christmas is, and Christmas is all in the heart. The unique feelings that come with Christmas only happen once a year, so it’s best to appreciate it while it lasts. It’s important to be grateful that you can even celebrate this holiday, especially with the people you love around you. Many people spend Christmas away from their families or don’t have time to celebrate it at all because of work, yet they still enjoy its lights and cheer nonetheless.
Maybe the meaning of Christmas is to incorporate your love for the holiday in your own way, not just what fits the tradition, and do what you think is fitting for your “Christmas”. It’s a time for all, a time of warmth around the world no matter where you are. It’s a moment where we are all connected through the hanging lights and soil that lies beneath the snow. Every aspect of life and the lack of it, from the hibernating bears to the marshmallow in your cocoa, it’s Christmas.
– by Koyo Ito (11th) Wayne High School
Picture by Harper D. (10) Teasdale.
Read more from Koyo in her Thanksgiving article, “A National Cheat Day.”