Christmas—not always a joyful time of year

Christmas is about colored lights, decorated trees, and gift giving, but it’s also a time for deep reflection and sadness, for some.

While most people are celebrating Christmas with their families, others might be alone and feeling miserable. It’s especially hard if you just lost a loved one to be reminded of that loss.

I’m fortunate to still have my family, but our holiday get-togethers now have changed. We used to have huge Christmas Eve gatherings and exchange tons of presents. It was exciting and a little overwhelming. Now, we have quieter get-togethers with less presents. We’re all older now and pretty much have everything we need anyway, and it gets harder to decide what to buy people, even ones you know well. That was a stressor for me every year at Christmas.

The unfortunate part of our Christmas gatherings in recent years is that they aren’t always happy occasions. Yelling at each other is a new addition. Those sweet, innocent times are long gone now with the rise of lies and fake posts spreading on social media and cable news, the latter of which really isn’t news. Those so-called news channels are meant to anger people. And the trolls on social media are intentionally trying to cause rage. It’s sad, but a part of our lives now.

The good news is my husband and I have our own intimate Christmas celebration and traditions that help me through this time of the year. I think, no matter what, you need to find your happy place.

Hopefully, we as a nation can get past all of this anger, and I hope my family can too.

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and Happy Winter Solstice to everyone.