the true spirit of christmas?

Not so long ago, a friend of mine believed she had this crazy ability to correctly ‘predict’ (say, 10 - 27 percent of the time) a few of a person’s qualities . So I gave her a shot at ‘predicting’ the kind of person I am. One of the lines she came up with was - ‘you find happiness in all the small things in life’. Hmm .. okay. Maybe true. But wait, how much of life does small cover?
This year I spent my Christmas holidays in Trivandrum. Although I know it seems asking for a little too much, I wish for a white Christmas every year! Two days before Christmas, I realised I was glad to be home because among other things, I was exposed to lots of scrumptious delicacies which I gobbled down with absolute delight! So if someone had asked me then what Christmas meant to me, like many, I’d have said that the Christmas spirit is an attitude of happiness found in the fellowship of friends and family or the party spirit while consuming kilograms and kilograms of eateries, that includes various chicken dishes, salads, pastries etc. Food aside, spending Christmas with your family – isn’t that the way its supposed to be? Yes, it is.
That afternoon, I was engaged in my customary holiday naps when I was awakened by the sound of a playful young kid. A three-ish year-old boy jumped into the room and asked me where the toilet was. No, I hadn’t seen this boy ever in my life before and I’m sure he hadn’t seen me in his whole three-ish something years either. I was amused by his sudden presence. I directed the little cute chap to the toilet. Hehe .. I was all praise for the boldness he displayed! Then, I realised. Something was wrong with his face ... that was when my little 9 year-old cousin sis told me that he was one of my aunt’s patients. After answering nature’s call, he immediately came up and picked a chat with me. The first question he threw at me, - ‘what is that thing on your teeth?’ .. .. Yea, he was talking about my braces. If it were somebody else in his place, believe me, i’d have snorted in disgust and changed the topic! Looking at his face, I couldn’t. I had lots of praise for this innocent kid’s boldness and courage. I replied, trying to explain the whole concept of braces (with my little cousin sis squeaking with laughter behind) . I don’t know how much of it he understood, but I think he comprehended quite a lot of it. A lot of ‘kiddish’ talk followed, after telling me his name was Joel. I appreciated his inquisitiveness a lot. I had a good time played around a little with him, before he left with his parents (his parents had come for consultation with my aunt, who is a doctor). Just before he left, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. And he replied, with his very innocuous voice - ‘For Christmas, I wish my amma and appa allow me to run while playing’. I was surprised. Run while playing?
As expected, I inquired what was wrong with Joel. My aunt told me he had a hernia operation weeks ago and among other health complications, he didn’t have sweat glands. She also added that he wouldn’t be able to live a comfortable life ahead. Walking in the sun and running around would be difficult for the boy. I felt so sad for the kid. Above all, he didn’t know what he was suffering from or why. He totally believed that he was a perfectly healthy kid.
I began to think about that being somewhat analytical, just what is the Christmas spirit? And I suppose there are a lot of potential answers to that question. To Scrooge the Christmas spirit was a ghost. To the liquor industry the Christmas spirit comes in a bottle. Some people feel that the Christmas spirit is somehow the truce that takes place in the family where nobody brings up the issues, the quarrels. I suppose for some people the Christmas spirit is expressed in a card that conveys a sentiment of well being. Mostly though, I guess the spirit of Christmas is giving presents. Thousands of rupees of worth as a result of people colliding and careening around in crowded stores, everything from candy to pieces of jewelry and everything in between and stuffing stockings and wrapping packages. And the spirit of Christmas, they tell us, is giving. And that's all right. I'm no Scrooge. I don't want to rain on anybody's parade. But I would just like to get down to the core of this deal ... what is the true spirit of Christmas? Is it fun? Is it fellowship? Is it giving? What is it?
I realised one more aspect of Christmas. More than giving away presents, sending cards and gobbling down delicious food, I realised Christmas was also about making the unfortunate people; children like Joel feel special, as they truly are. We, the fortunate, are the ones who instill hope in them. And believe me, the feeling that you get inside, caring for them, is – for the lack of a better word (and maybe lack of a comparison) – wonderful. And this shouldn’t last just for Christmas. This spirit of Christmas should live in us all throughout the year. This caring topped with love and happiness is what I believe Christmas is all about ...

Hope everyone’s having a great time .. Seasons’ Greetings y’all! And yea, have a fantastic and joyous new year -‘07!
Take care people ..