How was your Christmas? Did you enjoy (or at least successfully tolerate) getting together and catching up with your extended family members? Did you get the presents you hoped you’d get? Or do you have a pile of presents that you need to return? I am no psychologist, but now that Christmas is past, I can predict that people will generally fall into three groups:
The first group of people are the ones who feel happy and blessed because they received what they really wanted for Christmas. Their joy, however, is likely to be short-lived, lasting until a newer, faster, slimmer version of the awesome gadget they are so much in love with comes out.
The second group of people are the ones who feel angry and taken advantage of because they went out of their way to treat others, yet they did not get as much in return. They realize they will be hit with a huge credit card bill next month, and they grow angrier and angrier every time they pass by the box of fruitcake no one wants to even try (no offense if the reader happens to have given a fruitcake as a gift!).
The third group of people are the ones who suffer from what they call a “Post-Christmas syndrome.” These are the people who had such high hopes for Christmas, now that it’s over with all of the holiday hoopla gone, they experience a big let-down, even feelings of depression. These holiday blues may be due to a variety of factors. Perhaps the holidays were not as festive or celebratory as expected, their plans fell through, or expectations simply were not met, whatever they might have expected.
I can relate to the feelings of post-Christmas blues because I experienced it first-hand as a young girl growing up in Korea. I did not grow up in a Christian home. In fact my mother was a Buddhist and frequently visited a Buddhist temple. As a result, I had no idea what the real meaning of Christmas was, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. That understanding and appreciation for Christmas came much later after my family immigrated to the US and started attending church and I became a follower of Jesus Christ.
I still vividly remember feeling letdown on Christmas morning. I cannot quite remember what kinds of presents each of us children received from our parents, but I am sure we received something. Back then no one received multiple gifts like kids do this day and age. I think we are spoiling our kids too much, but that’s for another column. Honestly it wasn’t because I was disappointed with what I received from my parents, but a feeling of emptiness, a sense of “there must be something more than this”, was overwhelming even for a young girl. I couldn’t understand why some people seemed genuinely so thankful and joyful around Christmas. The happier people seemed at Christmas, the more miserable and left out I felt. Now that I know and understand the true reason for celebrating Christmas, I wish some of my Christian school friends had shared the Gospel with me. I would’ve not have suffered from post-Christmas blues then.
But praise God that I no longer suffer from a post-Christmas syndrome (well, except for clothes fitting a little too tight!)! In fact, I do not have to suffer from any blues - pre, mid, or post-Christmas. In fact, with God Immanuel, the indwelling Christ, in my life, every day is Christmas. And He is the one gift that I never want to return!
From Pastor Sara’s Heart
December 28, 2014