60 days to go...

I celebrated Christmas with my daughter. Each of us wrote about Christmas, and made a collage reflecting on our life and what we like.

What do I think about Christmas?

At Christmas, people focus on doing good things for others. They send their best wishes to all people they know. To mark the day, they light candles and decorate a tree with balls, lights, and stars. They put their gifts under the tree, to give to each other on Christmas day. Or they just give them to people wherever they are, like in the office.

Who is this Santa who comes to town at Christmas? He lived long ago and he loved children very much. In his part of the world, he was known as the friend and protector of children. He was loved so much that they called him Saint or Santa, which means holy man.

And he became so famous in his time that he never died and continues to live on in the world today. Children expect him to come to their town and visit them. He tries his best to do that, especially when children sing a song for him. My daughter thinks Santa is nice, kind, happy and jolly. If he can be all those things, I think we can be too.

Why is there so much eating on Christmas? There are Christmas dinners, special Christmas cakes, and Christmas cookies and candies too. Even Starbucks sells cookies in the form of Santa or a Snowman. I think it is because when we eat something nice together with our family or friends, it can remind us of making good things in life a part of us, deep inside our hearts.

In truth, it is the other way around. All good things in life are already part of us, inside us, every day. But because we tend to forget that, we need celebrations like Christmas to remind us that we can be happy, kind, and merry. It’s funny and a bit strange that we need things from outside ourselves, like candles, decorations, nice food, and gifts, to remind us of our good qualities inside. But this is how most of the people in the world think about Christmas.

What I know is that ‘everyday is a good day’. It is because of the good that is inside us. We are all good, and we can let more light shine from our hearts into the world if we make an effort. And when we do, it’s a great thing to laugh a lot and be happy. There really isn’t so much to worry about. And worrying never makes our lives better. So, while Christmas is celebrated on one day of the year, we can show how good we are on every day of the year, and have a great time together with music, laughter, lights, and togetherness.

Christmas

At Christmas Eve, everyone sings a song
Where Santa likes it, ho ho ho
Merry Christmas everyone! Merry Christmas!
Hey! Santa is a jolly man
We make a Christmas tree
Everyone help to put a star on top
We are going to buy gifts for Santa
Can you give us gifts, Santa?
Or shall we make a circle first?
Santa likes us to make a circle first
And put gifts under the tree
Enjoy your nice meal I gave you
Light a candle and make a wish
Thank you very much, and
Have a nice day everyone!
We had so much fun when Santa came to town
I know that he’s a jolly man
Good night and sweet dreams
We are happy!

Photographs: Giant Christmas tree at PowerPlant shopping mall, our collages