November 30, 2023
Listen:
Read Along:
Visions of Christmas
by Eliza Hawley
Every Christmas, my family reads “The Night Before Christmas’’ as we gather to celebrate the holiday. The line “as visions of sugar plums dance through their heads’’ feels especially applicable to our dreams in the Christmas season. I’m sure many people recall excitedly snuggling into bed on Christmas Eve and being met with vivid images of candy, questions on when Santa will come, and feelings of eager anticipation. Even after getting a little older and becoming a teen, I still go to bed on Christmas Eve with leaping joy and endless curiosity for the coming day.
But as I get older, I find my subconscious expanding my thoughts beyond possible gifts, and actually analyzing the true meaning of Christmas; love and forgiveness. My ideas shift from the gifts I might receive to the gifts I can give others. Rather than imagining scenes of pie and sweets (although those are great, too), I recreate scenes of family and friends. I think that this deeper analysis our brain seems to carry out while we’re sleeping brings new light to what really matters, and can push us to delve into our emotions and thoughts during this time. So even though I’ve moved past sugar plum fairies, my visions can still encapsulate the joy and love that is Christmas.
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. ”
“Jesus came to us as a child so that we might come to understand not only that nothing we do is insignificant, but that every small thing we do has within it the power to change the world. ”
