What have we done to Joy at Christmas? I know Christmas is still 24 days away — but who knew? Advertisements for Christmas have been ubiquitous since July — sometimes, even earlier! The race to win more consumer’s cash is more competitive than the Kentucky Derby’s Run for the Roses! Yet how, in all the rush, do we find Joy?
Several weeks ago, there were Facebook posts reminiscing about the Sears Christmas Book. (For you young folks, that was a commercial annual tantalizing tome, published by a world-renowned retail store). Many a child lay on the living room floor from late October until December 24, joyfully looking at pages of toys. Their hope lay on the enticing toys, enchantingly displayed on those wonderful pages; that Santa Claus would bring some of these to them on Christmas Eve.
Even now, TV screens, billboards, and in every other possible way, we are continuously assaulted by ads shouting Christmas Joy can be bought right here! Not so fast. The Joy of Christmas, as we all know, cannot be bought. All the sales, festivities, food, and frivolity put together do not in themselves create Christmas Joy.
The truth is that JOY is not limited to, nor created by Christmas. Even though it may be difficult to silence the shrill sirens of sensationalism, to find joy at Christmas time; we must focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Media voices, time pressures, personal schedules, all collude, tending to pressure our psyche away from true joy.
Susan Krauss Whitbourne PhD, in a Psychology Today article wrote of ways to bring more joy into our lives. Spoiler: none of them includes the typical pitch of typical “Christmas Joy” hawkers. Dr. Whitbourne found that simple everyday approaches, tend to bring that deep, abiding sense of happy contentment; in a word, joy. She also pointed out that by … inserting joyous moments into your daily experiences, long-lasting effects can foster your fulfillment… adding to your deeper sense of joy.
What have we done to the Joy of Christmas? We have smothered it with elaborate ersatz promises. Joy doesn’t happen that way. As Dr. Whitbourne’s article points out, …joy has the unique potential, compared with happiness, to foster the kind of well-being “derived from living in alignment with one’s values, purpose, and personal growth.”
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2025
Thank you. As usual very good.