It's hard to believe that Christmas Eve is hear already. The year has gone quickly! It seems like only yesterday, I was getting ready to have breakfast with a my longest (and pregnant) friend, before meeting two of my best friends from high school for lunch, and then heading home to spend some time with my family, visit my grandmother and join a friend and her family for their Christmas Eve celebration.
Our Christmas Eve traditions have changed as I have aged. I've gone from Christmas Eve visits with Santa to Christmas Eve visits with my dad in his office, where we would toast and reflect on the past year, as well as plan for the coming year; something him and his father did every year and I started doing when my grandfather was no longer able.
Christmas Day, to me, while filled with family and friends, always seems so hectic and rushed. Christmas Eve seems to be a slower pace, a time to really relax and enjoy the company of others.
Don't get me wrong, I have a busy day ahead of me; last minute errands with my parents, spending time with my sister, wrapping the last of my gifts, coffee with a friend, welcoming my brother home, visiting my grandma, dinner with my family, celebrating with a friend and her family, home to spend time with family and friends, helping Santa with putting presents under the tree and fill stockings.
At the end of the day, after the baking and socializing, the music and movies, shopping and wrapping...Christmas is about the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I remember, as a child, going to Church and having the priest call all the children up to the alter, the only time he did this all year, and he would talk to us about how Christmas was when Jesus was born. He would then lead us to the Nativity Scene- Jesus wasn't placed in the manger until Christmas Eve mass- where we would sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.
During the hectic times of the holidays, I hope everyone can take a minute or two to remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas...and maybe even sing Happy Birthday.
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