what christmas feels like…
Charlie Brown, our everyman. His voice gives shape to our annual dilemma. We know what Christmas sounds like, smells and looks like, but what does Christmas feel like? No doubt there would be as many answers to that question as there are people in the room. Allow me to offer mine – Christmas feels a little unhappy, slightly depressed…Christmas aches, maybe even hurts. And that’s just the way its supposed to feel because these glorious days remind us that something’s missing, that all is not well, at least not yet. The extreme responses to this reality are Eeyore or Pollyanna, two stances possible but seldom profitable. The tensioned stance, the much more human response is summed up by our trusted friend’s signature phrase: good grief.
So trim old Tannenbaum, light the candles, watch Rudolph and George Bailey, kiss long and hard under the mistletoe, make the Chex Mix, ring the bells and sing the carols (please, please sing the carols). Be profligate in your giving and go the distance to make a child’s face beam. But in all that, if you still feel a twinge of unhappiness or pangs of depression, remember that its not so much that something’s wrong, but that something’s not right, at least not yet. That’s what Christmas feels like, Charlie Brown.
Thank you for this.
Mandy, you are welcome…thanks for stopping in.
Hi John,
I love that tension and feel it when I see anything beautiful and fleeting like a sunset. Joy in response to beauty is generally as fleeting as the beauty and accompanied by an ache, no? It’s why I say that “bare branches” move me so much, often more than a maple in glorious bloom. The maple awaits death…but the bare branches have rounded death’s corner and are approaching new life. A reminder of what was lost, a reminder of the Hope to come. And of course I love the timeless genius of Charlie Brown via Schulz, even my young boys understand how much more profound (they call it “classic”) Charlie Browon is relative to the drivel pumped out currently. Another great post.
Leah
Thank you, Leah…I, too, am drawn to bare branches instead of blooms…
I love this so much, PonyBoy. Every scrap. Stay gold.
You got it, Gretchen…but the gold is turning to gray…
That’s lovely. We’re feeling it especially this year, the grief part.
Jeanne, I spoke your name to the Grace that keeps this world…amen.
Yes! Good grief. Good good grief. The wait of Advent is the weight of my very life. Come, o come Emmanuel.
Thanks for your words, Katie…it is the waiting, isn’t it?
Longing for Him to come, for the grief to end… what wonderful day that will be!
Carolyn, sometimes I wonder what we’ll do when the grief ends…
I don’t have to be able to imagine it with my finite mind. I just know that it is going to be better!
As Lucy said to Schroeder when he finally got Jingle Bells right, “THAT’S IT!”
Yep. That’s it.
Thanks, Amy…the Schroeders often help us keep things moving.
You know how to put a finger on the things so many of us can’t (or won’t) quite articulate.
Thanks for reminding us to acknowledge the reality of “not quite right” while we enjoy all that we can as we wait.
Love this so much, John. I’d like to highlight it at our HCB Community “Featured Posts” page at TheHighCalling.org. Look for a little snippet on Wednesday that points here.
Groovy, Ann…thanks so much.
Thanks for writing this, to free those who feel the ache to know that it is one of the many experiences and feelings that can accompany this season.
The link to you is live–it went up a little late (my fault).
Sometimes, when I think about it, Christmas is marked by loss. Loss of a love, of my parents, of freinds, of memories. It’s easy to think like Charlie Brown . I agree with your analysis and love the hunt for what’s right.
David, yes, the hunt is worth it…thanks for stopping by.
Well said, John. Charlie Brown touches our “not yet” place.
Good Stapp folk, we miss you guys…we hope/trust all is almost well.
Something’s missing.
Yup.
Thanks for stopping by, Sheila…
Tidings of comfort and joy only make sense for those who mourn. Good grief, indeed. So glad Ann featured you over at The High Calling. Nice to meet you.
So nice to meet you too, Nancy…
John – Yes, YES! This is it. This is how I always feel about this time, maybe even more so next week. I’ll wonder why all the gifts and food and decorations didn’t make me happy like they used to. Problem is, they never have. Nostalgia misleads me.
I wonder what they calling nostalgia for the future? Hope?
Merry Christmas, John. You always know just what to say.
Charity, yes, I believe ‘hope’ is a superb word for ‘future nostalgia’…a very merry Christmas to you too…very merry.
Thank you. Well said … and oh, so true! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you too, Andrea…thanks for stopping by.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my web site thus i came to “return
the favor”.I’m attempting to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
Still love this every bit as much as ever. Still need to remember it every bit as much as I did when you first published. Thanks, John.
So glad you reposted this bittersweet nugget this year, cuz I missed it in 2011. I am so grateful for your voice – and Merry (a least, a little bit) Christmas to you and yours, John.
yes, this
but we press on, right?
knowing that He will come again
in the blink of an eye
making all things new again
[…] John Blase turns to Charlie Brown to answer the question, “What does Christmas feel like?“ […]