Summary

A father pens a Christmas letter to his son, reflecting on the essence of the holiday and its significance beyond religious and cultural traditions.

Abstract

The web content is a personal Christmas letter from a father to his son, referred to as "Jackrabbit." The father reminisces about the family's Christmas celebrations, including attending church services and hosting gatherings with friends and family. He contemplates the multifaceted nature of Christmas, acknowledging its religious roots in the birth of Jesus, as well as the cultural traditions that have shaped its modern observance. The father emphasizes that beyond these aspects, the core message of Christmas is about kindness, love, and being good to one another, a sentiment that should be practiced year-round, not just during the holiday season. He encourages his son to carry the Christmas spirit in his heart every day, suggesting that the true essence of Christmas transcends religious and cultural boundaries, encapsulating universal values of love and kindness.

Opinions

The father believes that the most important aspect of Christmas is the reminder to be kind and loving to others, regardless of their background.
He suggests that the Christmas spirit should not be confined to the holiday season but should be a guiding principle throughout the year.
The author values the diverse traditions that have come to define Christmas, noting that they enrich the holiday's celebration.
He appreciates the joy of Christmas traditions, such as gift-giving and sharing meals with loved ones, while also recognizing that these acts are expressions of love and kindness.
The father sees Christmas as an opportunity to reflect on and reaffirm one's commitment to treating others with consideration and compassion.
He playfully endorses a personal Christmas tradition of adding candy canes to coffee, indicating a light-hearted and open-minded approach to enjoying the season's simple pleasures.

A Parent To Their Child About Christmas

A Dear Jackrabbit letter

For the first year after my son was born, I made it a weekly habit to write him letters documenting many of my thoughts and feelings during his first year of life.

This is one of those letters… sort of. The original “Dear Jackrabbit” letter contained family stuff that is important to literally no one outside our house. Still, there were a lot of things in those letters that I believe worthy of sharing.

Forgive me my indulgence if I think this might be one of those things–particularly as we are drawn ever-deeper into the holiday season.

Presented here, slightly revised for more public consideration, is my son’s first “Dear Jackrabbit” Christmas letter.

Dear Jackrabbit,

Today is Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

You and your mother just left for church–your second time going to church in less than 12 hours. We went to Midnight Mass last night and now I’m busy helping Santa rewrap presents. He was in kind of a rush and didn’t do that neat a job.

It’s been a busy week leading up to today. Last night we had many friends and family over for a big meal and some gift exchanges. You were passed around from person to person and showered with a whole lot of love.

That happens frequently, whether or not you remember it.

Welcome to the Christmas season. Your first.

What is Christmas?

Good question. It’s a lot of things to a lot of people.

For many people, it’s a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus. This aspect of the holiday has evolved a lot over time. Whole centuries went by when it was scarcely acknowledged at all. Today, various religions and sects practice the celebration a little differently from one another, but on the whole, it’s all for the same reason.

But Christmas isn’t only a religious holiday. Not anymore.

Over time, Christmas has adopted traditions and trappings from cultures all over the world. Most traditions you’re likely to see come from Europe, but there are also some traditions we celebrate that originate from parts of Asia, and the Americas. What we experience as Christmas today would be wholly unrecognizable to a pack of shepherds on the outskirts of Bethlehem some two thousand years ago.

So there’s the religious aspect. And the input of regional traditions. What else?

For me, the most important message and purpose behind Christmas is one nearly everyone on the globe can share.

It is a yearly reminder that the world is a better place when we’re kinder to one another. That the world is a better place when we consider our brothers and sisters from all over the world, and from next door, and within our own families.

Be good to one another. Peace on Earth.

This isn’t a hard message, and it seems a shame that we need a big holiday once a year to remind us of this, but it’s a welcome reminder just the same.

We show our kindness and our love to one another in many different ways. Sometimes it’s with presents. Sometimes it’s with a good meal and fellowship. Other times it’s by engaging in an act of kindness. These are things we are reminded of once a year–but the real message is that we should be doing stuff like this all the year long.

Christmas can be every day of the year if you so will it.

It’s hard, I admit. We are human, but we do our best. The ideal, however, is to carry the Christmas spirit all throughout the year, regardless of religion or traditions or any of that other baggage. The Christmas spirit is bigger than all of that.

It’s all about love, baby.

I will admit, though, that on Christmas Day, it’s awful fun to open presents. And Christmas Eve last night was awful fun sharing and enjoying a big meal with family and friends. It’s a hectic time of year, but I think we’re all building up some good energy to keep that spirit moving forward.

So be kind.

When you get right down to it… when you get past all the symbols and images and traditions… that’s the true meaning of Christmas.

Be kind.

All my love,

Dad

P.S. Oh… another cool thing about Christmas is putting candy canes in your coffee without judgment. Try it when you get older. Trust me.

Father knows best.

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