Christmas.
Hmmm. I never believed in Santa Claus or reindeers. I liked the idea of it though. The chimney. The bag stuffed full of presents. Rudolph. The sleigh. The ho!ho!ho! The cheeriness. The cookies and milk for Santa. Kinda sweet.
But no. I never believed in Santa. Mostly because my parents didn't tell me he existed when I was a kid. Heh. I knew that those presents under the tree came from them and my relatives. No jolly Santa...but there WERE 2 jolly parents. Heh. Heck...plenty good enough for me.
I knew there wasn't a tooth fairy either, though I tried it once JUST TO SEE AND MAKE SURE. I tucked my little tooth under my pillow. I kinda hoped that if the tooth fairy didn't exist, at least maybe my parents might put some money under the pillow. Um...no such luck in this department though. I was a bit disappointed. But, I sorta expected it to be a myth anyway. No big deal.
On the subject of Christmas...here are some X-masy images that pop into my mind:
Evergreen wreaths with huge red velvet ribbons woven and dangling from them. Fragrant pine trees. There's nothing like the scent of fresh pine. Refreshing...the smell of X-mas and winter at their best. Golden bells jingling their music. Presents beautifully wrapped under the tree...patiently waiting for their owners to ravage them...love them...strip them to their lovely and exciting contents. Snow falling from the skies. Snowflakes that glisten wetly on my black hair. Red blushing noses from the wind. Being able to see my own breath in the air. I pretend I am smoking as I exhale...puffff puffff. Teeth chattering from the cold wind. Beautiful Christmas lights aglow...twinkling...I swear they are magical. I can stare and stare and stare at lights forever. Christmas dinner...the joy of just being together with loved ones. Thanking the world that I have someone to love and to be loved. And...the celebration of the birth of the Baby Jesus. I am not religious...but I think...yes I think I believe in Jesus. Even if I didn't believe in Jesus, Christmas would still mean all the things he symbolized...compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, generosity, spirituality. Most of all...LOVE. Sheer love for those you care about.
That is what Christmas is to me.