Hygge Christmas

Happy Wednesday everyone! And happy December and Merry Christmas! 😁

I used to put a lot of weight into the things we do for Christmas. The “traditions” or the check list. Go see the zoo lights, make gingerbread houses with friends, go to the Christmas Market, go to a light show, decorate cookies together for Santa. Certain Christmas movies needed to be watched. It all had to be done in December and it all had to be done before Christmas. And if it didn’t happen... it wasn’t right and didn’t feel like Christmas. Am I the only one who gets like this around Christmas time? You have to do all the Christmas-y things for it to feel like Christmas and when it doesn’t happen it just... is kind of sad and doesn’t feel right? 

I realized I was putting waaay too much stock into the things we did for Christmas last December. I can’t remember if it was last Christmas or the Christmas before that, but I do remember telling my mom how I was frustrated that we weren’t doing all the things and just kind of sad that Christmas looked different that year for whatever reason and she told me about this thing called hygge. 

The definition for hygge is this: a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being. It also means simple times spent with family. It means simplicity and contentment. She said how the Christmas season wasn’t about checking things off lists. Christmas isn’t because we do gingerbread houses and watch certain movies or go certain places. Yeah, those things are fun and they make it feel more Christmas-y but they don’t make Christmas. That isn’t what Christmas is about. Christmas is about celebrating the birth of our Savior. It’s about a time of gentle celebration, a time of finding peace and connecting with God. It’s about spending time with family in whatever way that looks like for each person and each family.

Last December I asked God to give me a hygge heart. A heart that is content with the simple things, that can enjoy Christmas and celebrate the birth of our savior whether we do all the things or not. And can I just say how extremely thankful I am for that lesson learned last year when there was no pandemic or mess that is 2020? God’s timing is so perfect in that I got over my check list Christmas and gave up the need for everything to be perfect all the time in December and for us to do all the things. If I hadn’t... this Christmas would feel like a major let down and a real bummer. 

I know the whole Jesus is the reason for the season is cheesy and cliche but it’s true! More than ever before, we need to have this mindset this year. A lot of our Christmas’s are going to look different. Long time family traditions might not get to happen, a lot of Christmas-y celebrations are cancelled. Some of the things that can make Christmas feel like Christmas isn’t happening this year. And we need to realize that... that is Ok. Because the light shows, the Christmas markets, the big Christmas parties... they don’t make Christmas. They aren’t what Christmas is about. They’re fun and they bring joy and excitement and that’s great! It's Ok to be sad that we don't get to do all those things this year. It's Ok to make space for the exhaustion this year has brought, for the grief and the hurt that's happened. There's been a lot of awful, tiring things this year and honestly, the fact that some of us can't do all the fun Christmas things this year only makes it even more of a downer. But I think that's why we need to remember the true reason for the season all the more this year. That's why we need to open up our tightly closed hands and give it all to God this Christmas season and find peace and contentment in every small, good thing that happens during December. 

I’m going to be leaning into hygge this Christmas. Even if things don’t work out perfectly, even if I’m a little sad that we can’t do all the things we normally do, there’s still a reason for joy and excitement. If anything this Christmas will teach all of us how to slow down and be present and let go a little. To find joy in the small moments and the little things that comes with the Christmas season. I know it’ll still look different and there’ll be sad or hard moments, but I think that’s why we need to soak up all the small moments as much as we can this year. Sitting and watching Elf together, driving around and admiring the Christmas lights, decorating the house, getting those festive Starbucks Christmas cups. Find those small joys this Christmas. Make space for a quiet morning with a cup of tea and a good book. Find room to sit and watch a Christmas movie with friends and family. Read the Christmas story and then read it again and again, marveling at the fact that our Jesus came down and that we get to dedicate an entire month to celebrating His arrival. 

Let's be extra conscious of our mindset and our hearts going into December this year. Take a deep breath, release all of the grief and sadness, missed opportunities and expectations for this month to God and step into this month with hearts and minds set on Jesus with spirits of peace and celebration.