Christmas Eve 2020

It's weird.
It's Christmas Eve and I'm not really feeling Christmassy, if you know what I mean.
There's no in-person Christmas Eve service to go to, and I kind of doubt if I'll watch the online version.
We're going to adopt the Icelandic tradition of giving each other a book on Christmas Eve and then reading and eating chocolates. We may watch a stupid Christmas movie; we may not.

It will just be us for Christmas this year. Maybe we'll do a video Christmas at some point, but probably not on Christmas day. We don't usually buy much in the way of gifts for each other and we won't be fixing a big holiday meal, so...I think it will be pretty much like any other day.

And maybe that's the way it should be.

Let's face it. We all know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. And we all know that Christmas celebrations of family gatherings, gift exchanges, holiday cheer and all of the other trappings of the season have very little to do with the birth of Jesus anyway. Some quiet reflection on Emmanuel (God with us) is probably a much needed thing in our world right now. I'm all for peace on earth and men of good will, but we seem to be lacking in both of them.

It isn't supposed to make it out of the 30s tomorrow (a few degrees above freezing for my Celsius friends), but it is supposed to be sunny. I'm hoping that the afternoon will find me sitting in the sun and contemplating life while enjoying a good cigar and a decent whiskey. Or maybe I'll pickup an inexpensive bourbon to add to some coffee or eggnog. I know that others will be alone for the holiday, so I may be sending a few texts or messages to remind them that there are people who care. 
After all, it is Christmas.

Merry Christmas
John