Three Christmas letters from my archives

This time of year, I almost always feel a sense of urgency to pen a Christmas letter that captures like never before the essence of the season.  The written word has been around a long time.  The likelihood of mixing and matching words and creating something entirely new, innovative, and never before composed in the history of the written word, is about as likely as discovering the one true Santa immerging from your hearth on Christmas morning. For most of us, our most enchanting Christmas memories are from our youth.  To fully experience the magic and majesty of Christmas, it’s almost essential to approach it with a childlike faith.  The older we get, the more difficult that becomes.  In order to capture the true essence of Christmas, one must do it with a minimum of words, from the purest and most youthful depths of our heart.  That’s my hope for each and every one of us this season, that the spirit of Christmas can purify, cleanse and relieve us of our years of baggage, apprehension and animosities, and allow us once more to experience the magical Christmas of our earliest memories, pure, simple, unadulterated, and awash in the warmth, joy, and unconditional fellowship that comes of an innocent heart and a childlike faith. Dear God, help us once more to approach, Christ, Christmas, and each other, with open arms, forgiving hearts, and the incorruptible innocence of our youth. SC

This time of year, we hear many disparaging comments about Christmas.  People despair over its commercialism, the financial strain it tends to create for some, and the anxiety and depression it causes in others. We’re told of its origins in pagan tradition, and how Christmas trees and Christmas gifts and all the traditional trappings of Christmas were swiped from various archaic cultures down through the ages. We’re told by wise and learned experts that it can be conclusively determined that Christ wasn’t even born in December.  What are we to think?  I’ll tell you what I think.  I think that for myself and many others, our memories of Christmas past and our hopes for Christmas future may well be the very essence of what makes our lives worth living. For us, the spirit of Christmas and everything that the true meaning of Christmas represents is a fundamental element in our faith, our happiness, our very existence, and everything we treasure in our lives. It’s our memories of Christmas past that strengthen our resolve to keep Christmas vital and alive, and see to it that children for generations to come can experience the joy we knew on those cherished mornings long ago, when we gathered together with precious souls we miss with all our hearts, and shared the precious, incomparable gift of Christmas. SC

Regardless of your faith,
The Christmas Season is traditionally a celebration of
Hope, Faith & Love

Christmas is a feeling in our chest,
A sense of being sheltered and caressed,
A memory that makes our spirit soar,
An ache that leaves us somehow wanting more;
Bitter sweet recollections of a day,
Of innocence and faith and youthful play;
Scenes of family outings in the snow,
Cherished mornings ‘round a Christmas tree aglow,
Priceless memories of innocence we’ve known,
Before we ventured out in life alone;
When each day found us carefree, safe and glad,
And evening found us home with home with Mom and Dad.
We strive today to recreate a time,
When hope was strong and zest for life sublime,
When childlike faith assured tomorrows joys,
And needs were met with simple gifts and toys.
Perhaps tomorrow’s hopes can best be met,
By casting off our feelings of regret,
And reaching out to others who still care,
And comprehend the passion that we share;
Those who recognize that they’ve been blessed,
And embrace that hopeful longing in their chest.

Hear my stories on youtube.

Shannon Thomas Casebeer

Season’s Greetings

MERRY CHRISTMAS