The holidays are a good time to look back on all the good things that happened in the year coming to an end; and a time to make plans for the New Year ahead. Except that, according to the Mayan calendar, this year there is no need to make plans for the year ahead!
The ancient Mayan believed that on December 21, 2012 the world would end, or be transformed by a series of cataclysmic events. Lucky for us, a week before the apocalypse, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has published a video explaining why the world will not end this Friday. (Or did not end, in case you are reading this after the fact…)
While I am not particularly looking forward to experiencing the end of the world, I nonetheless found the idea of skipping Christmas, New Year and the shopping obligations pretty appealing.
What used to be a celebration of happiness – a time to be with family and friends – has become, in many ways, an endless spending spree. Instead of honoring the Advent by taking some time to reflect on the year which is ending and think about ourselves, many of us are expected to decorate our homes, to cook, to bake, to buy presents for everyone, to write Christmas cards, to celebrate, and to have fun, even when, often, all of these activities leave us too tired to really enjoy the moment.
But in spite of the Mayan predictions and the world’s many crises and suffering, I believe that, more than ever, Christmas and New Year need to be celebrated, to remind us of the importance of our family and our friends and, for those who believe in the holy nature of Jesus Christ, to remember the real meaning of the Nativity.
While the consumer society we live in has a big influence on how we chose to celebrate the holidays, no one is forcing us to buy more gifts than we can afford, or eat more food than our bodies can digest.
So this year, keeping in mind that the world can end anytime, I will remember how lucky I am to have a family to celebrate Christmas and New Year with, and make sure to enjoy and appreciate the time we spend together.