Have We Forgotten Christmas Spirit?

Being a new dad is giving me a great perspective on almost EVERYTHING! For example, The first:60 seconds of Santa Claus is Coming to Town taught me a lesson that should learn too.

I will admit that I'm surprised at how much I didn't know before having a son. There are so many things I've come to realize that I plan to share at a later date, but this is one that couldn't wait. Have we forgotten what Christmas Spirit is?

I was sitting with our son this weekend looking for a Santa song when my childhood memories flashed right before me on my phone. The classic claymation movie, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" came up when searching. I clicked play and the first :60 seconds of the film made me realize something that I felt imperative to share.

Fred Astaire narrates this classic tale about where Santa Claus comes from. It starts with people complaining about Christmas, Santa Claus, and Christmas Spirit in a time of turmoil. It was what Astaire that made me think of the similarities from then to today. This film debuted in 1970 and times were extremely different. I'm in no way comparing 1970 to 2016 because that would be ignorant considering the world is a different place. I am however calling attention to the similarity of our attitudes when things aren't perfect. It's so easy to become SCROOGE when work isn't great, your candidate doesn't win the election, you don't get the part in performance, someone breaks up with you, or tragedy hits when you weren't expecting it. Let's take out the word SCROOGE because that could be inconsiderate. Let's just quote a part of what's said in the beginning of the movie,

The noise, the crowds, I really wish it were outlawed...how can they talk about Santa Clause when there is so much unhappiness in the world.

I think what really caught my attention was the narrator's response,

Poor missguided folks. They missed the whole point. Lots of unhappiness? Maybe so, but doesn't Santa take just a little bit of that unhappiness away?

I don't know why it caught my attention, but it stuck with me so I'm writing this. Please watch the beginning of the clip and take what you like from it. I've always believed that if you could help just one person, then it was worth it. Don't let today's drama bring down the spirit of Christmas. Our son LOVES Santa, and it's something that makes him smile. We watch Polar Express together with my wife, and it's a feeling that you get when looking into his eyes. It's magical.

Let's challenge ourselves this year not to forget what Christmas Spirit it. Let's try to remember that it's NOT about the presents. Christmas to some is of religious value, and to others, it's when Santa Claus comes down the chimney on Christmas. I love the message in this little classic film that tries to remind us that Christmas can be about giving. What if we all made a promise to our neighbor that no matter what tragedy they faced that food would aways be warm and waiting. What if we made it a family tradition to give one present to someone they didn't know. I wonder what our world would be like if we spent Christmas Eve at the shelter serving food. I wonder.

This year be thankful for what you have and somehow try to understand that we're lucky. I've watched our son go through some pretty terrible health scares, and we continue to battle this mystery. It's important for our family to understand that we may have been in the ER the night before Thanksgiving, but some families are still there. We don't know what natural disaster or what the next scare will be. Let's just agree that can't Santa take just a little of that negative off your lives even if for just a few days?

Unplug your phones from work, social media, and just plain distraction. Plug back into your family and create a real tradition. Try to remember that movies like Scrooge we're meant to be like documentaries. Scrooge was supposed to inspire and teach a lesson. Santa Claus is Coming to Town wants to teach you something. Remember when television shows and movies taught us lessons?

Share this with someone and make it a point to bring some Christmas Spirit to your space, where ever that might be.