What do newlyweds have to do with excited kids and a white Christmas?

While everyone is busy reflecting on this year and compiling "Top _____ of 2006" lists, I am, as usual, pondering about basically random things and blogging about a select few of them. Here are some holiday thoughts — which have little significance, I just thought they would be a nice break from the important stuff: For many, especially children, the lead up to Christmas is like the lead up to a marriage. Yes there are fears of getting bad or not enough presents — like the matrimonial fear of commitment — but there is also that passion and joy that to-be-wed and newly wed couples often enjoy. This is where the concept of a 'white Christmas' (a Christmas with snow) may actually be more detrimental than enjoyable for those observing Christmas. The lead up to opening the presents — like the lead up to a wedding — is filled with worry and passion. Afterwards, there is a newly-wed kind of aura around the new couple and the honeymoon period of relationship bliss, which is like the period after opening presents for kids. A while down the road the presents loose there appeal, the same thing that happens with many a marriage. Christmas for children is quite comparable to young newlyweds' wedding period and its immediate aftermath. Going back to my white Christmas theory; a white Christmas, with snow for children's enjoyment, may be a distraction in that honeymoon period of presents. Think about it this way: a loving couple excitedly gets married, but soon after, one or both of them needs to work or is occupied by a task cutting into the couple's newly-wed time. Either that intensifies the relationship by making the honeymoon all that more enjoyable (a break from work, after all that waiting), or that often blissful period is shortened because one or both in the couple cannot enjoy one another. With the honeymoon period, post-Christmas, for kids and their presents, a white Christmas — assuming the children go out to play in the snow — can either intensify the fun and freshness of the presents once the kids get back to enjoy them, or the magic is ruined; after all that waiting the mind wants to focus on some other want and wish.

technorati tags: christmas, holidays, presents, wedding, newlywed, society, metaphor