Did Christmas Come Early This Year?

By Brianna Fasoli*

There is no doubt that the holidays this year will be quite different. It is as if that is all anyone seems to say these days isn’t it? Talk of the new normal bombarding us at our every turn. Everywhere we look a constant reminder of what can’t be popping up to bring us down. During the next few minutes you take to read this article however, I would like to talk about something that we seem to all need a little extra of these days: holiday spirit.

 

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According to most Christmas movies, cheesy or otherwise, holiday spirit is an abstract yet integral part of Christmas. It’s a type of magic that lives only in our hearts. Perhaps they aren’t too far off, especially this year. Maybe, even though this year will be different, even though this horrible virus seems to be doing all it can to keep us apart, maybe we’ll emerge from it closer to one another in the end.

I noticed, and you possibly did as well, that around early November it seemed as if there was some kind of unanimous yet unspoken idea dancing in the air, like sugar plum fairies. Grocery stores and houses alike were decked from head to toe, or perhaps roof to foundation, in cheerful holiday decorations weeks ahead of usual. Everyone appeared to feel as though a little bit of holiday spirit ahead of schedule could do our bruised morals some good.

I don’t know about you, but I think that was a splendid idea! Just the bright lights and nostalgic decorations are enough to engulf us in hope for brighter days ahead. The same can be said in my opinion even for people who don’t celebrate Christmas; sometimes festive decorations can be enough to put a smile on someone’s face.

During this holiday season it is more important than ever to be kind and compassionate to those around us, as we never know what they are going through on the inside. That’s why just this silent collective effort to spread holiday spirit is so important and so touching to me. If we can come together to do this without proper organization, it gives me hope that we’ll be able to come together on a much larger and more vocal scale in the future. This holiday season we have to continue to try and keep each other safe and as much as it pains me to say this, that means finding creative solutions for ‘seeing’ our loved ones with as little contact as possible. We must do this so that all we are spreading is holiday cheer and nothing else.

Happy Holidays to All!

*Brianna Fasoli is a grade 10 student at Rosemere High School and a Saint-Eustache resident