Christmas Spirit - sources of eager excitement

public-facing displays of seasonal symbols during winter solstice run-up

The birth of Jesus of Nazareth, according to teachings and tradition, in the town of Bethlehem in the province of Judea somehow has come to fit the darkest time of year in the northern hemisphere, when the daylight hours reach their shortest period. And yet the historical reference to the Roman Empire's census and other indicators suggest the biological birth of the historical person of Jesus would likely be in springtime, instead. When and how that calendrical convention came about is a subject for other writers and inquiring minds. The photo, above, is the writing prompt for the question here of emotional response to Christmas in the customary December 25 time frame these days.

The picture comes from early morning in west Michigan on the day after Christmas and includes a neon text above the front door, "Merry Christmas," a wire-hoop likeness of a snowman (stovepipe hat, coal-looking buttons and eyes) There is a large inflatable example of a polar bear in red "Santa Claus" coat and cap, along with a bear cub in matching outfit of green. In the past 10 years these colorful nylon envelopes, held in full inflation by means of an electric fan and illuminated from the interior by enclosed light source(s), have become increasingly common to see on public display in the front yards of homes and sometimes businesses - not only for Christmas subjects but also the other times of national holiday (Thanksgiving in November, Halloween in October, Independence Day in July, Easter in March or April, and possibly Valentines Day in February). A few sections of street or country road might have several neighbors in friendly competition to light up their properties at night. But impressionistically maybe only 1 house in 5 or 6 has some form of seasonal decoration, mostly for Christmas, possibly matched by Halloween in elaborateness. Colorful yard decorations and window decorations may display modest messages of "happy holidays" or "santa stop here" or "reindeer crossing" (in reference to the flying sled that a team of reindeer is said to deliver heaps of presents to good girls and boys; or a lump of coal to children who misbehave). Similarly common are plug-in strings of small lights - plain white light or else colored ones (all red, maybe blue or green; sometimes multi-colored) that can be draped on bushes, ornamental trees, or along the eaves of a roofline. Residents who invest more time or money may create an ensemble of figures in wood or illuminated plastic to represent the Bible depiction of the Christ-child laid in a manger, flanked by parents, shepherds, and the three magi with their respective gifts of (then) great value: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then there are the inflatable characters from commercial (popular entertainment, consumer culture) sources: snowman, reindeer, TV movies or animated stories. Seldom, if ever, are Biblical subjects adapted to the inflatable form of lawn display - so far, at least.

The holiday that comes before Christmas is Thanksgiving, celebrated in USA on the 4th Thursday in November. Sometimes the calendar puts Thanksgiving relatively early or late in reference to the fixed date for Christmas on December 25. By custom the decorations inside and outside the home change to Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving or in the week after that, as time allows and according to the level of interest or investment that the person has in decorating seasonally. By contrast to the household schedule for decorating, retail stores have a bigger incentive to dress up their inside and outside with seasonal color, sometimes changing the background music to add atmosphere, too. So the stores sometimes begin displaying Christmas themed things for sale soon after Halloween at the end of October, skipping the low shopping season of Thanksgiving in order to make room for the high shopping season of Christmas gift giving (or treating oneself by reason of the gifting holiday).

The aggregate effect of the retail and the residential public displays (including local government offices inside and outside occasionally) of Christmas season (much less so the coinciding celebrations around the winter solstice of Hanukkah or Kwanzaa) is that a person is given many reminders and references to the forthcoming holiday. There are many emotions that can be stirred up by the decorations, along with melodies of seasonal church hymns or pop culture Christmas songs that can be heard in stores, in homes, on seasonal-only radio playlists, and sometimes integrated with outdoor displays. In no particular order, these are some of the associated emotions, some of which may contribute to the well-documented phenomenon of people surviving until the holiday and then dying (e.g. patterns observed in nursing home or long-term care facilities; sometimes in hospitals, too).

• Each time the season comes back, some people are reminded of previous years of Christmas gift exchange, feasting, catching up with friends and family. When those memories are happy, then the current year is burnished by the echoes of those earlier times. When those memories are sad (death of a loved one who now is conspicuously absent from the celebration), then the emotional echoes are colored by that.
• Ten or 20 years of growing up at home establish the Christmas season pattern of good things one may expect, wish for, and sometimes be fulfilled: gifts, special foods, seasonal music, reuniting or visiting relatives and friends. As a result, even years into one's adulthood, there is a sense of anticipation and undefined "something good awaits you" to raise one's emotions.
• In the transition from child to becoming the parent of one's own children, or fulfilling the role of uncle or aunt to the children of siblings, then there is an indirect thrill: no longer being the recipient of grown-ups' gift-giving, now the person can delight in the excitement displayed by the next generation of children, and thereby bask in the reflected emotional warmth that is generated.
• Some people have bad memories of gifts that went wrong - either as recipient or as giver - which adds a layer of "giver anxiety" (fear of failing to meet recipient standards of good versus failing gift) or the complement, "recipient anxiety" (fear of useless, unwanted, or inappropriate status or brand name to fit one's self-image). So this negative emotion can make the season less glowing, or in some cases something to get-over with as quickly as possible.
• As children grow out of the toys and new clothing age, there are fewer gift choices. So the obligatory wrapping, presenting, and opening presents turns hollow; going through the motions and emotionally flat. In that case when there are no fun, frivolous, or daily-needs (practical) things to give, then some givers or entire gift-exchange groups (family, workmates, school friends) take some of these paths, separately or in combination to substitute the emotional excitement of childhood with other sources of meaningfulness: homemade gifts, consumable or experiential presents (instead of material objects or prepaid gift cards at a retailer of the recipient's choice), or "secret Santa" with price cap to keep givers from trying to out-do each other in terms of expense. Secret Santa means that names are drawn from the pool of participants; the recipient is not supposed to know the giver's identity.

Looking back at this list of emotional responses to Christmas (leaving aside the religious significance that is the root of all the commercial and cultural expressions), all of these listed sources of Christmas emotion could apply singly or in combination to the photograph at the top of the article. People do have some shared emotional resonances to the holiday reminders all around them, but individually the exact mix of positive and negative emotions will vary from one year to the next, and according to the trajectory along the arc of a lifetime. Whether child, parent, friend, stranger, grand or god-parent, there will be differing layers of meaning that rise to the surface, sometimes unexpectedly and without any apparent reason, as the seasonal triggers brings a surge of joy or a hint of dread that desaturates the bright lights and cheerful melodies, rendering them monochrome. On top of the individual combination of feelings, there are the larger currents of change in the river of history. In 2019 the shrill shininess is much different to the relatively muted commercial character of seasonal customs and displays from 1919, so soon after the Great War stopped. But then, perhaps in the eyes of 1919 people there were feelings of nostalgia for standards for celebrating "like it used to be" in the generation before that. Maybe the contemporary displays and novel musical compositions were considered distressing when judged relative to the earlier status quo and the childhood memories of 1919 adults. In the same spirit, perhaps the people of 2119 will view the customs of 2019 as quaint and simple and pure in some sort of way, compared to the way that things turn out in 2119.