“Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer. Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year.
Snowflakes in the air. Carols everywhere. Olden times and ancient rhymes of love and dreams to share.
Sleigh bells in the air, beauty everywhere. Yuletide by the fireside, and joyful memories there.
Christmas time is here. We’ll be drawing near. Oh, that we could always see such spirit through the year.” By Lee Mendelson & Vince Guaraldi
I have fond memories of this song mainly due to the fact that it is tied to the popular Charlie Brown Christmas special. In the days before Cartoon Network with 24/7 cartoons, DVDs and Netflix, we had only one shot a year to see this special, live on television. One shot! If you missed it, you had to wait until the next Christmas to get another shot. And since cartoons were only on TV on Saturday mornings, our brains were not over saturated with animated shows. Charlie Brown Christmas, on a major network, during prime time, was a BIG DEAL.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are connected with Charlie Brown. Truth, I had the song “Linus and Lucy” played as they introduced our wedding party to our reception when Chris and I got married, and it is my ringtone on my cell.
So even though this song is sad or melancholy sounding, it still evokes happy feelings for me, especially the line, “Carols everywhere”. I laugh every time I hear this line. You see, my sister’s name is Carole. I just imagine her running around like a crazy lady at Christmas time, so I always sing it/imagine it, “Carole’s everywhere”. LOL! Love you Carole! <3
But I think the line that stands out the most to me is, “Oh, that we could always see such spirit through the year.” This is my dream. I love Christmas time. I love the food, the decorations, the music, the sparkle, and how people seem kinder. I want to lose myself in this feeling every year. I work really hard in October and November to try to knock out as much of the holiday prep as I can so that I can enjoy as much of the season as possible. It’s never long enough. I wish I could lose myself in Christmas every year. I mean seriously lose myself and never go back. I love the warm feelings, the kind feelings, the heart warming feelings and I wish, so very much, that I could see such spirit through the year.
But come December 26, something just doesn’t feel the same. It’s not meant to last. And I understand that the end of the festive vibes is probably why Christmas time feels so special.
May your Christmas be filled with happiness and cheer. May it truly be your favorite time of year. May there be snowflakes in the air…enough for ambiance, but not enough to make travel dangerous or to cancel flights like in all of the Hallmark movies. May you enjoy carols, and sleigh bells, and beauty everywhere. May you have yuletide by the fireside and make joyful memories. May you draw near to those you love and care about and may YOU see this spirit through your year.
Merry Christmas!
Jennifer