Glitter-free Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love

Like many American families, this past weekend our family “put Christmas away”. We disassembled all the outdoor decorations including the boxwood wreaths, the netted lights on the bushes, the Moravian stars hanging from the trees, and the string lights draped ever so gracefully around the evergreens. We made the inside of our house plain again. The stockings that were hung with care came down, tree ornaments were each lovingly and carefully wrapped and stored, and the collections of Santas and Nutcrackers were put away, as if we were tucking them into bed and wishing them deep slumber until next year. It is a bittersweet time, as we strip our house of the holly and jolly; the red, green, silver, and gold; and all the magical Christmas clutter.

But the part of Christmas cleaning I really and truly do enjoy is my time with the Christmas card bowl. I brew myself a large pot of coffee and sit down to enjoy each Christmas card and message one last time. During the month of December, our postman, Harrison, is kind enough to deliver us happy mail amongst all the bills, supermarket circulars, and solicitations. And when Christmas cards begin arriving the day after Thanksgiving, we rush to the mailbox every day with great anticipation and excitement! There is so much joy in opening the envelope for the holiday message inside, and once we enjoy it, the beautiful card finds its home in the Christmas card bowl on our kitchen center island. We have fun going through the bowl throughout the Advent and Christmas season, reminiscing about old friends, reminding our children of distant relatives, and telling them stories they have not yet heard or heard hundreds of times. We love the variety of cards we receive: the traditional bi-fold cards with beautiful or amusing artwork, cut-outs, or glitter; the letter; and the photo card. Photo cards are like a flip book where we slowly see everyone aging along with us. We love to see how much Christmas card children are a reflection of their parents, and we harken back to the days of matchmaking and joke with one another about which boys would be good matches for our daughters, and which girls would be good matches for our son.

Social media is an incredible gift and resource and it’s a fantastic vehicle for networking and keeping people in touch with one another, but there’s something special about the old-fashioned Christmas card we receive from the relative we only talk with once a year, the friend we see every week or the one we haven’t spoken with in a decade, who still thinks of us at the busiest time of year. I cherish each card and message and am truly grateful that someone took the time to address the envelope with my name and were generous enough to attach a 60-cent stamp to it, all so we can stay in touch and can enjoy a little more holiday cheer.

The first Christmas card I ever sent to friends and family was back in the early 1990’s. I was in graduate school and had not a single dime to my name. So, I took discarded brown paper bags from the supermarket, and cut angel shapes from the bags, and wrote my Christmas message in black ink on each one. I did this while I had some down time sitting in a car in Jersey City doing drug market and violent crime field research. Ah, those were the days! For years, I was adamant I continue the tradition of drawing my Christmas cards, and then with the arrival of young children, I eventually acquiesced to sending a photo card because time was a commodity of which I had little. The Christmas card list has grown through the years, and yet with every mailing label I affix onto each envelope, it is a walk down memory lane, a labor of real love, and a Christmas tradition I hope never fades away. We should, however, consider putting a ban on Christmas cards that contain glitter because while they are beautiful and sparkle in the light, they make a horrible mess of my kitchen counter and I find I am picking up glitter for days!

I hope that as we each reflect on this past holiday season, as we think about the number of candy canes we ate, the smell of the Christmas tree we cut down, the love we felt with family and friends, that we take a moment to pay tribute to the tradition of Christmas and holiday cards! They keep us connected, they make us smile, and each one shares a message of hope, joy, peace, and love, and boy, can our world really use that now. Moving forward, however, let’s just agree for convenience’s sake that we only spread glitter-free hope, joy, peace, and love!