After a couple of pandemic-impacted holiday seasons that forced many people to, at least temporarily, adopt new traditions and ways of marking Christmas and other sacred or secular celebrations that fall around this time of year, it is nice to have a normal one with no government restrictions on who you can have in your house to open presents or eat Christmas dinner with or worries that you have to make a choice between seeing loved ones and staying safe.
Obviously, despite the fact that COVID-19 has receded as a concern, enabling people to enjoy school Christmas concerts in person or to just have a regular old party in their home, along with other local traditions such as last month’s Santa parade or the Norplex Pool replacement fundraiser Winter Wonderland Christmas lights display at McCreedy campground, this holiday season may still be difficult for many people. Without a Salvation Army food bank and Christmas hamper program as a result of the organization shutting down its Thompson church and associated services last June those without the means to afford a regular old Christmas out of their own pocket have one less place to turn to for assistance, though other organizations have stepped up to run their own food banks and hamper programs for some of those who need them. Even people employed in jobs that enable them to weather most of life’s economic ups and downs may find that this year is a little bit more of a burden because rampant inflation and the high cost of everyday items like gasoline and bacon are straining their budgets and making Christmas, which for many people is tough to pay for without going into debt in any year, more of a luxury they can’t afford this year rather than a special occasion they can’t help but splurge for.
On the bright side, however, the last two years have shown us that, really, the specialness of the season doesn’t lie in the presents and food and all the accompanying glitter and lights that accompany them, but in the enjoyment of them with family and other people we care about. It’s like we were all the Grinch, standing up on a mountain, waiting to hear all the Whos down in Whoville crying “boohoo,” only to hear them singing all the same and suddenly understanding what Christmas was really about. This doesn’t necessarily mean you should tear down all your decorations and not give any gifts to you children and significant others on Christmas Day (this is real life and not a heartwarming children’s story, after all), but at least that you can forgive yourself if it isn’t possible this year to make it the best Christmas ever. As we learned over the course of the pandemic, you can always hope for better days ahead and, at least in some ways, they’re bound to arrive at some point. There’s always plenty of problems to worry about at any given time of the year, be they personal, financial or international in scope, but there’s always bright spots amid the doom and gloom as well. Certainly, for many people, 2022 proved tougher than they had thought or hoped it would be and even, in some ways, more difficult than 2020 and 2021 as a result of the fallout still being seen from the unexpected and drastic changes that occurred as a result of the pandemic. The good news is that it’s almost over, according to the calendar, and we are free to imagine that 2023 will be a fresh start and end up being judged an improvement when we look back at it a year from now. Reality will probably find a way to bring those hopes down a little bit closer to Earth over the course of the year, because that’s what reality does, but given the travails of 2022, among them shortages of workers and of common consumer items and the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has resulted in a grinding, destructive war that has cost many people their lives and does not look like it will be ending anytime soon, it never hurts to wish for a smoother, less painful next trip around the sun.
