Christmas season tends to bring out emotions in all of us – some emotions of sadness and some of gladness. A recent Google search of “Christmas makes me sad” turned up 347 million results with lots of articles telling us why Christmas makes us sad. Psychologist Ken Duckworth commented “Holidays are a great example of expectations exceeding reality for most people.” The office party is not as fun as the office planning committee promised it would be. The conversation over the Christmas family meal does not go as smoothly as hoped. We get our hopes built up for an amazing season and the reality of that season can fall short.
But others insist Christmas adds to our happiness. A recent Google search of “Christmas makes me happy” yielded 3 Billion results. Among those results are articles citing research that says putting up your Christmas decorations early actually makes you happier. To which some of us say “Bah humbug.” About putting up decorations early, psychoanalyst Steve McKeown said, “In a world full of stress and anxiety, people like to associate to things that make them happy and Christmas decorations evoke those strong feelings of the childhood.”
Because our situations in life change from year to year, some Christmas seasons will be more enjoyable and some will be marked with struggle. And we can experience both emotions in the same season. With the plethora of articles about Christmas sadness and gladness, here are three reminders for us preachers as we preach Christmas services.... Read More
The season of Christmas can be an emotional roller coaster ride for many people. In parts of the world which do not receive much sunlight during that time of the year, it can be coupled with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). When I was involved in child welfare work, it was one of those times of the year that we saw a sudden increase in referrals. It was a particularly stressful time for parents and other caregivers.
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