Purple Haze
Seeing Christmas through your eyes
By Lauren Bagian

Dec. 17, 2009

I have been in a Christmas rut. Normally I bake every afternoon in December with the Christmas music on a loop. I have a check list of classic holiday movies that I have to complete by Christmas, and I’m always on the lookout for new films to add to my list. I love decorating, shopping, singing and wrapping. However, this year it has been a bit harder to get into the Christmas spirit. Gifts seem to be getting more expensive and there are more and more people to buy for. Baking requires energy, which is hard to find as Christmas approaches and the tins have gone unfilled. I have been in serious danger of letting Christmas pass by without jumping in headfirst like I have in past years.

Thank goodness I was saved by two second graders. As an annual tradition, my mother and I go see The Nutcracker Ballet in Harrisburg. This year we were joined by some friends and their young daughters. The girls were both dressed in their holiday best with embroidered dresses and curled hair. Looking at them reminded me of the days when my mother would pick out velvet dresses for me to wear each Christmas Eve and curl my hair in just the same way. They were so excited to see The Nutcracker since it was their first time seeing the show. I, however, was already planning when I would catch a quick nap in Act II, but their excitement was contagious and I soon caught it.

When we dropped everyone off and I was sitting at home again in my decorated house, I remembered what Christmas was like for those in elementary school. Why does the joy need to stop there? Yes, it is true, the older we get, the less we are excited to run down the stairs on Christmas morning to see if Santa Claus came, but does that mean we cannot somehow live vicariously through the fresh joy around us? The excited young girls who accompanied me to The Nutcracker renewed my Christmas joy. It’s incredibly easy to be caught up in it all and I recommend just letting it happen.