5 Surprising Reasons Why the Grinch Will Save Christmas
I can’t wait for the party to begin.
I love the days before Christmas. The smells of gingerbread, mold wine and Christmas tea go around in the beautifully decorated markets. The fairy lights brighten the dark, cold winter nights.
It’s as they would tell us, “Rejoice!”
Christmas should be a happy time.
Not a rush.
Not a time of exhaustion.
Not a time of loneliness and despair.
And not a time when we cancel the celebration all for good. Have we lost our senses to consider saying, “No!” to quality time with our loved ones to stay safe?
It’s not the first time someone wanted to cancel Christmas.
The Grinch hated the holiday. But to his despise, the Whos of Whoville enjoyed celebrating Christmas. Looking at their desire with aversion, the misanthropic green creature vowed to crush the Whos’ Christmas spirit.
If there is one celebration to keep, it’s this year’s Christmas.
Yes, you’re right. We must celebrate this.
Here are my five reasons why Grinch will change his mind and allow us the keep the 2021 Christmas.
Why the Grinch will save the 2021 Christmas…
1. We Need a New Perspective
With the myriad of frightening news and the significant instability, we have become weary. Around me, I heard people say, “I’m exhausted!”, “This year, I’m even more stressed.” “I can’t wait to move on.”
To quote ancient Jewish literature, “Where people lack perspective, they perish.”
Don’t we need a moment of joy, hope, filled with laughter, in which we can forget for a few hours what we’ve gone through?
It’s time to relax. It’s time to toast. It’s time to believe again that the best is yet to come. The future is bright. Our best days are ahead of us and not behind.
2. We Need Each Other
I came across a video in which a CEO of a global pharmaceutical company said, “I have never spent so much time alone.”
We have spent too much time alone. When I traveled to Cambodia, I had to undergo a two-week quarantine. My emotions took a hit. Imagine two weeks with no physical contact all by myself. It was challenging, and I don’t want to experience it again.
I don’t think we are made for spending long periods alone. We need community.
Christmas is one of these essential family times. If you’re blessed with a great family, enjoy these times. Many people struggle with Christmas because tensions and conflicts mark it. You may even have no family at all.
I have to celebrate without my family this year as I live thousands of kilometers away. I am even more grateful for my friends. I’m looking forward to the quality time we’ll spend together.
My love language is quality time. My heart beats faster when enjoying a delicious meal with loved ones. That’s when I open up and forget the time. That’s my moment.
It’s tempting to spend Christmas alone amidst this challenging pandemic. Don’t we hear many warnings we should not do this and that? Should we avoid spending time together?
Is this the solution to stop seeing each other?
3. Our Emotional Health Is Important
We hear, “stay safe.” Our physical health is essential. It’s also necessary to protect the health of others.
We tend to forget that our physical health is only one part of the equation.
What about our emotional health? Did we forget to take care of our inner well-being to protect ourselves from the consequences of the virus?
I felt void two days before the end of the quarantine. When my colleague told me that the test results would take at least 1–2 days longer than before, I became desperate. I felt like I had reached the limit of the time I could spend alone. It became unbearable.
How do prisoners manage that? Spending years in isolation, like Nelson Mandela had to endure on Robbin Island, must have been horrible.
I realized that I longed for quality time with other people. My emotional health is vital. And that’s why I want to spend Christmas with other people. And that’s why you should too.
Get creative and find the format that complies with your local sanitary rules.
4. We Love to Celebrate
Don’t we love to toast and to cheer? I have not met many people who don’t love to celebrate. Have you?
Christmas is a joyful time. The angel told the shepherds out in the field, “I bring you good news of great joy.”
Isn’t that a hint that we should not forget to be joyful this Christmas?
Your outlook may be dire. Your company has laid you off. You may need to reinvent yourself like the pilots from Qantas.
The story of Airbus 380 pilots touched my heart who decided to make the best out of the tragedy. They began to drive local buses in Sydney. And to my surprise, their smile had not disappeared. They kept celebrating the good things.
So should we.
Let’s make this Christmas the happiest, most fun, entertaining, and loving we have ever experienced.
How much joy the shepherds must have experienced when they heard the angel choir sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.”
It starts with an intention. Do you want to change your focus, beginning to look at the positive? You have it in your hands to experience a grand celebration.
In a time with much instability, we get two fundamental choices:
- Victims resist the change.
- Leaders embrace the change.
Imitate the leaders.
Become creative and make the most out of it. No matter how big the challenge may be, you find a fantastic opportunity behind it if you start looking for it.
5. We Thrive Together
Our respective governments may force us to reduce the number of persons sitting around the Christmas table.
Don’t let this fool you. We need each other to thrive. Don’t stop seeing people because we need to stay healthy.
Distance, isolation will make us dull. It’s time to see other people as much as we can and within the frame we have.
Why not consider several Christmas dinners with a smaller number of people? You will get two immediate benefits. Your celebration period will be much more extended, and you can spend more quality time with your loved ones. With a few people sitting at your table, you can focus on each one of your loved ones.
How often did I come back from a big extended family meeting, realizing that I did not even talk with half of the guests?
Big is not always an advantage.
We need each other to thrive. Let’s put a priority on spending time with family this Christmas. And if a physical meeting is not an option, let’s make the videocall the best we’ve ever had.
It boils down to this:
Christmas 2021 will happen. And it may be different.
If you are ready to embrace the change, you will realize it has the potential to become the best one you’ve ever had.
Among other reasons, we celebrate because…
- We thrive together.
- We need each other.
- We need a new perspective.
- We need to take care of our emotional health.
Don’t we love to celebrate? That should already be a big enough reason to look forward to celebrating this joyful feast.
Merry Christmas!
