Christmas Spirit

I think I'm gonna do a couple entries today just to catch things up...it's been forever since I've written anything on here. Anyway...this particular entry is about Christmas since that IS what just happened only 2 days ago.

I have a particularly difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit. I feel like there's gotta be some kind of formula or something. Let me give an example of what I'm talking about. Last year, the radio stations actually listened to their listeners and did not play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving...how I feel it should be...I was good about getting presents for people early and on Black Friday and began to listen to Christmas music right after Thanksgiving only to get burnt out on Christmas spirit about a week before Christmas Eve. FAIL. Other years, I have tried to wait until later in the month to begin my Christmas playlists and purchases only to find that the climax of my Christmas spirit came only after the event had already occurred. FAIL. I don't know what I used to do as a child to be so excited about this holiday at just the right time. And this seems to be the case for most holidays for me...I can't seem to find a balance and be most excited at the right time. Either I'm too early and am tired of it before it begins or I wait too long and cannot force myself to be excited about the holiday until after it's happened. What is the formula?! Perhaps I have become one who analyzes things so much I just muddle them up. Maybe...

I'm unsure. Is there a formula? Even years I've just let it happen how it will (like this year, though I did think about what I've done in past years) I still seem to be unable to distinguish the holiday from the other days in a meaningful way.

I've actually thought that might be what is the problem...maybe somewhere in the knot of noodles that is my brain, I've decided that holidays really aren't much different than other days really. At least not the big ones (Easter and Christmas mainly). Shouldn't we be thinking of Christ's sacrifice every day? Why celebrate on two specific days? Why aren't we celebrating every day? I mean...Christmas is a holiday where Christians somewhere along the line decided to merge the celebration of Christ's birth with a pretty famous non-religious holiday. Easter is similar...though I'm not sure which is which. I do know that Easter is also a time that has been celebrated as a non-religious holiday. I mean...Jesus died, but there certainly were no rabbits leaving eggs around the cross. Non-religious traditions surrounding religious celebrations surrounding non-religious traditions. I get the tree...I get the baskets...I get the colored eggs...I get dressing up like a soldier or Spiderman...those seem like one day things. Celebrating Christ's birth, when GOD lowered himself low enough to insert himself into a filthy human body...to become something so imperfect and make it perfect...to live a life we could never live...to love humankind like no one else can...to save the world as no superhero could...to allow Himself to be killed and descend into hell in order to plead for my imperfect soul...to conquer the one thing humans cannot (death)...that is something we should celebrate hourly...moment by moment. How could we who have been saved be comfortable with limiting our loudest praise of Jesus Christ to two days a year?! I cannot understand that. Perhaps that is why I cannot get into the holidays the way churchgoers say we should...the holiday, the holy day! It's every day I'm alive that is a holy day. God gave it to me to spread His word to the world. One more day...one more chance to make a difference for Christ.