2000

19th December 2000
Christmas: The in Between Years
Rebecca Beisler is a member of the Diocesan Commission for Youth and a Communications student at the University of Newcastle. She has written the following reflection on Christmas from a young person's perspective.

At the beginning of December, I put up the Christmas tree with some close friends. We dug it out of the cupboard underneath the stairs and began the vaguely familiar task of piecing it together.

As we danced the tinsel around the tree, we couldn't stop ourselves from saying "It's not the same any more!" This echoed conversations I'd had with friends over the last few Christmases. We talked about how we no longer wait up all night for Santa to come, and how we don't wake up in the early hours of the morning unless it's to tell our younger brother or sister to go back to bed. That butterfly inside, that wouldn't settle down until after Boxing Day, just doesn't seem to be around any more.

I think I have discovered why. You see, we are at that in between stage. We are too old to sit on Santa's knee but don't have kids of our own to bring to the same red lap. We have to rely on our childhood memories. As always, this is what the conversation turned to. We delighted in reminiscing about family traditions: leaving water and grass out for the reindeer, writing lists for Santa, making Christmas decorations and presents from scrap material and toilet rolls. Everyone seems to have some little thing that is unique to their Christmas. It is only by remembering these little things that the magic of Christmas sticks around.

As we put the finishing touches on the Christmas tree, we discussed how we all see Christmas as a family occasion.

People's reverence for Christmas time amazes me. I have friends who stopped going to Church a long time ago, but who still love being in Church at Christmas. It's like another of those childhood traditions that we love to relive. It makes it feel like Christmas.

The Olympics actually reminded me a bit of Christmas time. Everyone is happy, you can say hello and Merry Christmas to any passer-by and there's a kind of magic and spirit around that you allow yourself to believe in. It's one of those times that we say "why isn't it like this everyday?"

We stood and looked in admiration at the tree. Finally it had begun to feel like it was Christmas. The tree looked great. Not only was it decorated with lights and tinsel but the memories we had dressed it in.

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