The 15 School Days of Christmas: Losing Christmas spirit and how to get it back

With the holiday season in full swing, people left and right are brimming full of Christmas spirit: listening to the music, partaking in decorating and cookie baking, and just getting excited for their favorite time of year. Some, though, do not feel this joy when December rolls around.

People who aren’t overjoyed by the season are scorned as being a “Grinch” or a “Scrooge.” Until recently, people would have probably called me one of these terms, but really, I was only missing the spirit of Christmas, which is different than hating the holidays.

As someone who lost it, I know that a lack of Christmas spirit does not mean disliking the holidays. For me, it meant that I no longer felt a sense of joy during the Christmas season.

Unlike the way movies portray this feeling, I was not born without a sense of holiday spirit. As a child, I had the same Christmas joy and excitement as everyone else. My sister and I would love to bake holiday-themed cookies, decorate our home, and wake up in the middle of the night to continuously check to see if our presents were under the tree. It was our favorite time of year because of the joy surrounding it.

However, as I got older, my family started to care less and less about the holiday. The gifts got less exciting, Christmas cookies were made less frequently, and decorating became low on my parents’ priority list. Two years ago, we didn’t even have a Christmas tree.

All of these things lessened my Christmas spirit, because the season started to feel ordinary instead of uplifting and exciting.

This year, however, I have begun to revive my holiday cheer. It may sound like a cliche, but spending extra time and putting extra thought into buying presents that my loved ones would actually enjoy has brought back my Christmas spirit.

If you feel as though Christmas no longer brings you the joy it did when you were young, then you, like me, were appreciating the holiday for the wrong reasons. Christmas is not about decorating your home; it is about those loved ones with whom you do the decorating. It isn’t about the sweets and songs you love; it is about sharing them. And finally, Christmas is not about the gifts you get, but about the love that you give.

By truly appreciating the cherished people in your life, you too can get back your Christmas spirit and your love for the season.