December 25^th: Christmas Day
December 26^th: First Day Of Christmas
December 31^st : Sixth Day Of Christmas

“…On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me: Six Geese a Laying…”
— Traditional English Carol

The Six Geese a Laying is said by some to represent the Six Days of Creation.
They represent New Life!
The Eggs they are a-Laying are Rife with the Promise of Life to Come!
It is also New Year’s Eve.
We are on the Cusp of Something New.
A New Beginning
Another Chance
A Clean Slate
A Fresh Start
A New Day
A Gift: To Receive; To Give
Now…

This Holiday Season has filled me with Questions
How things are Changing
Wildly Slow
Imperceptibly Rapid
Without even Noticing, as my Attention is Fixed upon it
Under My Scrutiny, Undetected…

According to STEPHEN NISSENBAUM’s THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS,
Christmas in the United States was early-on a celebration more like the worst of Halloween — Wilding, Break-Ins and Robberies.
In CLEMENT C. MOORE’s 1823 Poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” he points out,
“A wink of his eye and a nod of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.”
This is because, at the time, a Christmas intruder did not mean someone was bringing a gift, but more likely that they carried the threat of trouble.
This had changed over time.
There was a time when the Christmas Holidays had very little to do with the Church or a focus on the Birth of Christ — it was more a time of Bawdy Revels!
In the early 1700’s the holiday’s atmosphere did not celebrate Children — they were to be seen and not heard.
By the next century, they were very much the focus of Christmas
And the Holiday evolved into a family-focused Celebration in the Home.
Dramatic Changes happened over time.

Similarly Dramatic changes seem to have occurred in my Lifetime.
I keep Christmas the way I was brought up to do.
My Partner and I celebrate it by Giving and Sharing and
Treasuring this time with Friends and Family and Loved Ones!
We Give Gifts, Welcome Friends and Neighbors to our Home,
and We Celebrate all Twelve Days Robustly!
But even in the past twenty years,
Christmas Cards have changed so substantially.
Do you notice that fewer seem to be exchanged now?
People keep in touch more through email.
And even the Updates that would arrive in the annual Christmas Card,
Are kept up throughout the year on Social Media.

Christmas Cards originally became popular a century ago, in order to let people know you were thinking of them,
as the exchanging of useless gifts had grown tiresome.
Then, as we grew more prosperous after World War II,
Sending both Gifts and Cards boosted the economy.
So the tradition became more about Both.
ReFresh!
Now, we find ourselves gravitating toward Spending Time together,
As the Greatest Gift of All.

It all Changes.
It has Changed, and
It continues to Change,
And it will Change again.

It is Changing even now.

I had a friend years ago who would have a Word for Each New Year.
This is the Year of __(fill in the blank)__.
People would come to him to know what will this be the year Of?
I declare this
2016
the Year of ReFresh.
Appreciating all that we Have
Celebrating all of our Gifts.
Embracing Change.
And just as we click the ReFresh Button on our Email or Browser,
Let us ReFresh
And Enjoy the Changes that Come About
Oh So Subtly
Faintly and with Seismic Effect
Radically, Vividly, Imperceptibly.
We are BEAUTIFUL
We are WHOLE
We are the Luckiest People on the Planet!
Grateful
Grateful
Grateful
Even Happy, if we dare admit it.
In Celebration and in Gratitude,
Let us ReFresh!
Let us Awaken!
Let us Renew
Restore
Replenish
And Recommence!

…Creation.
…New Life!
The Eggs they are a-Laying are Rife with the Promise of Life to Come!

Let us Celebrate Every Accomplishment of this Past Year
All that it has Taught Us
And all that we are in the Process of Learning!
ReFresh
And Embrace the New!
What is Your Word for the New Year?
What is this the Year Of, for You…..

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