crushedcorn

I don’t know of many phrases more cheerfully delivered and more sincerely spoken than “Merry Christmas.” The whole holiday season is full of apple-cinnamony warm salutations and frosting-sweet scenes of snow dripping over eaves and sparkling in the space between tree tops and the frozen ground.

Even the words we use at this time of year prompt us to use an otherwise archaic dialect. Words like “merry” and “jolly” are suddenly brought to life, and the thought of using any other expression in their stead would be considered sacrilege. Imagine how you would recoil if someone urged you to have a “Cheerful Christmas.” And “jolly?” How could Santa be anything else? But it’s not just words that change – entire modes of thinking and speaking are turned towards the sun, even at a time of year when that fiery orb has taken an absence. During Christmas we speak in cheery, bright tones which, if written down, would be colored in vivid yellows and oranges with italics and boldface abounding. I know this sentiment has been expressed and the wish for Christmas-like sincerity and care cried for over pages and pages of blogs and editorials, but I just had to add my voice to this call: Why can’t we all be as animated, bright, and sincere year round as we are during the holiday season? When I see trees and ornaments already being taken down, this cry feels more and more desperate, a plea to be taken up before the last bright holiday light is resolutely unplugged until next year.

To see pictures of a Very Handyside Christmas, click on the Flickr link to your right!