Merry Christmas Eve! Can you believe the holidays are already upon us? Like everything in 2020, throughout this Christmas season time seems to have both simultaneously sped up and slowed down. Typical routines have been paused, favorite traditions have been reimagined, and things have just generally felt off. And while Christmas 2020 certainly looks a bit different, there still remain very real ways to foster connection and cultivate joy amidst what has otherwise been a disrupted, unconventional holiday season.
You know those classic gag scenes in certain (not-great) comedies where some unsuspecting goofball suddenly charges forward and slips on a banana peel that just so happens to be lying on the floor? As if in slow motion, the poor fool takes his tumble and begins the excruciating experience of falling to his demise. For a seemingly eternal moment he remains suspended in midair, juxtaposed between the bold confidence he previously exuded and the haunting humility he will soon face. Then, finally, he hits the ground, and the crowd erupts in a cacophony of jarring, thunderous, soul-crushing laughter.
I’ve always had so many questions about these types of scenes. First, why is there a banana peel on the floor? Who in good conscious just throws a banana peel on the ground and walks away? What kind of self-respecting litterer does that?
Second, why a banana peel, the most sad, dejected, and stinky of the fruit wrappers? Orange peels would have been much more fragrant and well-received. That’s some poor decision making if you ask me.
But third, and perhaps most important: What is it about these scenes that people identify as comical? What is particularly funny about someone tripping and falling squarely on their rear end? Aren’t we concerned that this poor person could be hurt? Shouldn’t we go help them? Wait, we are laughing now… Should I be laughing too? Isn’t this what grade school explicitly taught me not to do? I’m so very confused why this “banana mania” is funny… Maybe there’s a subcurrent of a larger joke running through this whole awkward situation that I’m just not understanding? Please make this horrible joke stop.
For many, this is largely what 2020 has felt like: Please make this horrible joke stop. While we didn’t necessarily see it coming, the banana peel was already lurking, lying there in plain sight simply waiting for us to trip. Seemingly invincible and otherwise unaware, we charged forward determined to continue our lives on the same trajectories they’ve always been on, confidently—and perhaps ignorantly—forgetting to slow down, pause, and survey our larger surroundings in the process. And then we hit the infamous banana peel[1], slipped, were launched upward in a prolonged feeling of suspended slow motion, and have finally plummeted to our demise. The difference? We’ve collectively hit the ground and no one is laughing. Suddenly, I’m not the only one who doesn’t see the humor in this sick, twisted societal joke.
At this point, you may be reading and think to yourself, “Wow, Katie. That was heavy. And twisted. I thought this was supposed to be a fun, light-hearted Christmas blog: Thanks for the generous dose of optimism!” Perhaps this is fair, but bear with me. The point here is not to linger on the slipping, tumbling, and pain associated with the fall itself. The point is to focus on what comes after the “banana mania.” The point is to focus on how we rebound after the fall. The point is to focus on the rise.
It’s always tricky to pick ourselves back up after a devastating fall. Especially when we have been particularly leveled and razed to the ground, it requires a considerable amount of strength, resilience, and mental fortitude to rectify the situation and begin the slow process of turning our world right-side-up again. Notably, this process need not happen all in one fell swoop; rather, we can intentionally choose to pick ourselves up with one small step, one small action, at a time. It is through these gestures that we start to notice the underlying joy that naturally surrounds us and can begin to chart a new, more hopeful path forward.
For me this holiday season, charting my new, more hopeful path forward has involved both intentionality and effort. I’ve pursued thoughtful holiday activities, celebrated old traditions in creative new ways, and even established a few novel traditions along the way. From designing ice luminaries to partaking in a virtual gingerbread-building competition, to baking my mom’s famous sugar cookies, this Christmas season has been centered around the little ways I can spark creativity and bring joy to myself and the people around me.
For starters, I’ve realized spending time outside has been especially important to me this year. Nature has always been my happy place, and that has proven truer than ever as we’ve lived through a pandemic. Even as the winter days have grown short and the temperature has continued to drop, I’ve prioritized getting outside every day for fresh air and some much-needed perspective. While many prefer summer’s conventional beauty, there’s something to be said for the simple, raw, unadorned natural elegance of winter. From long walks with good friends to frenzied attempts at ice skating to experiencing the thrill of casually observing ice fishing, I’ve spent as much time bundled up outside as I can physically endure. The lake in particular has continued to serve as my therapy—my medicine—throughout the winter season, and I’m thankful I can always lose myself outdoors whenever I seek clarity and crave unrestrained play.
Additionally, this season I’ve experienced joy while stopping to notice the tiny, beautiful details that pervade my everyday surroundings. This looks different depending on the circumstance, but as I’ve transitioned away from my normal routines of window shopping and casual store browsing, I’ve naturally noticed a growing appreciation for reveling in the details of the contexts I can comfortably observe. For example, this year a local Twin Cities department store, MartinPatrick3, teamed up with Minnesota’s Dance Theatre to bring Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy to life in the department store’s window displays. While the beloved annual holiday ballet was unable to take the stage this year due to Covid, MartinPatrick3 paired classic costumes from the ballet with elements from the store’s own holiday collection to breathe new life into a favorite holiday tradition and create some much-needed Christmas magic. Now, passersby can admire the ballet’s soldiers, snowflakes, and sugar plum fairies in this festive reimagining and give themselves over to the whimsical, childlike imagination of the season.
Whether you choose to get out and enjoy nature, visit a local holiday attraction, or pursue something else entirely, it’s important to get crisp on your priorities and intentionally design how you plan to routinely inject joy into your daily life. Yes, we have collectively slipped on what feels like the largest banana peel of all time. Yes, we have fallen. Yes, it has hurt—perhaps even more as we near the end of 2020 and reminisce on all we have missed out on this year.
And yet.
We can get back up. We can do this. One step, one decision, one effort at a time.
We will rise.
We will persist.
We will find the beauty.
We will thrive.
May your days be merry as you find ways to cultivate the joy
that surrounds you, and may all your Christmases be bright with the shining
hope that this too shall pass.
[1] AKA Covid, if you’re following my strange metaphor…
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