Christmas Eve, 2020

2020’s been a hard year, for pretty much everyone to some degree. But I’ll save thinking about that for later.

It’s Christmas Eve.

Since I “left home” (which is to say, “moved out of my parents’ house”), Christmas itself as generally celebrated in these parts hasn’t seemed as big a deal to me as it was when I was younger. I can take or leave the jolly, poppy music, the decorations, the food and feeding, the lights. I’ve been more at home with a quieter, gentler observance of Advent, in the dark of December.

But this Christmas is different. I sure it’s a reaction to the year that’s been, but I’ve been all about the songs and the lights. We’ve put up lights on the outside of our house for the first time ever.

Christmas is a time of drawing close to those you love (even if at an enforced distance of six feet or many miles), and Advent is a time of looking forward with hope. However you observe Christmas, secular or sacred or not at all, I hope those are both things we all get to enjoy.