Holiday Traditions
Keeping a Joyful heart is a choice…
WE LOVE THE HOLIDAY SEASON!! Like obsessed.
For us the Holidays start well before the month of December. We start getting the itch when fall comes around, and it lasts well after the new year! For us the Holidays are basically the Fall and Winter seasons combine! We are for sure in full force once Thanksgiving is here and our magical Elves show up :)
It doesn’t matter your background or beliefs, I would say it is true that in some space and on some level we all celebrate something this time of the year. Big or small it doesn’t matter, this is where the “you chose Joy” comes in. Crazy, being joyful is a choice. Don’t get it twisted though, happiness and joy are two different expressions. You can be happy because you like to drink hot coco, or because your family is traveling to see you. Joy is a choice, in any circumstance you get to choose if you are filled with joy or not. Think about that for a second. A lot times we think joy is a condition that is brought about when we are pleased with something, but even if this year has brought you strife and trials, you GET TO chose (or not) to have a joyful heart.
So why bring that up? Well because sometime we get so busy as the holidays take up each second of everyday until it is gone as quickly as it came. Be present in the Holiday cheer around you this year, it will magically slow down time, and you may just find that choosing to Joyful comes so much more easily. How can we do this? I am soooooo glad you asked! LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION.
Huh? Ok, let me explain the concept! Lets start with the “Lights”. Lights hold deep meaning for most traditions, Faith based beliefs, and acts as the marker of the start of a specific time of year, or religious ceremony. For example, if you celebrate Hanukkah, you probably light a Minora each night for a specific amount of days. If you celebrate Kwanzaa you will participate in the lighting of candles, if you celebrate Diwali, you are literally takin part in the festival of lights, and finally if you are celebrating Christmas, you put lights on a Christmas tree and maybe even on your home! In each of these beliefs, religions, and traditions lights play a large part in the meaning and celebration!
CAMERA. This time of year is spent in celebration. Why not document it? Capture your friends and family in laughter and JOY! This concept is also very relevant when thinking about sending and receiving holiday cards! It is very popular in our society to gather the years pictures or our activities, kids, dogs, celebrations and add them to a holiday card to showcase to friends near and far! Take all the pictures! Capture the important piece of life! We all carry around a mini camera/video camera in our pockets and purses! Someday the pictures you take now may be the only thing you have to remember these times and these people <3
Take action. This will be displayed in lots of ways! You may see this in holiday celebrations where friends and family gather to celebrate a common belief or time of year (pre-Covid of course). You see people take action by giving and receiving gifts! You and you family may even decide to take action by serving a meal to those less fortunate, or donations to a specific charity to take care of those in need. It does not take a mountain of money, or days at a time to help others, any way to serve others will automatically change your perspective and ultimately, fill you with JOY!
We love traditions. A tradition by definition is “the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.” Through tradition, we are able to share with generation to come the times and activities that we participated in for years to come. Our traditions and beliefs will differ which is the beauty in evolving as humans. It truly doesn’t matter where you come from, the magic of traditions and the expectation built in them will spread an amount of Joy and love from year to year…. Choosing JOY, is a great way to start!
Take a look at this great article from “Extreme Community Makeover” about some fun traditions and activities around Denver Co this Holiday Season!
https://www.extremecommunitymakeover.org/lifestyle/denver-traditions-for-the-holidays/
~~~~~~HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you all!! ~~~~~~
