Christmas with Joey Cantaloupe, and the Spirit of Christmas: Capturing It, Keeping It & Being Possessed of It with the Assistance of Cinema
This is the third installment of a yet-to-be-determined number in a series on the Christmas season at-large.
Ah, yes.
The Christmas Spirit.
The Spirit of Christmas.
Per the Collins Dictionary1
...the positive feeling people experience…during holiday periods such as…Christmas…
Something that everyone can say they know what it is, and they know it when they see or feel it. Undoubtedly, millions are seized by it at one time or another between Thanksgiving Day and December 26.
Let’s review, though – shall we?
This...
…is not The Christmas Spirit.
This, on the other hand…
is what most recognize as The Christmas Spirit. I hate to admit it, but the character of Frank Cross, as portrayed by Bill Murray, nailed it.
It's Christmas Eve! It's...it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we...we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.2
What’s wrong with that, really? Are any of the alternatives – indifference, malevolence, selfishness, or self-centeredness (even if consistent) – at all preferable?
No, they most certainly are not.
If a couple of hours on Christmas Eve is the best you can do, then let those couple of hours be enough – perhaps they turn into a half-day, then maybe a whole one; maybe that day becomes a week; a week, a month; and a month, a year.
You have to do something. You have to take a chance. You do have to get involved. There are people that are having...having trouble making their miracle happen. There are people that don't have enough to eat, or people that are cold. You can go out and say ‘hello’ to these people. You can take an old blanket out of the closet and say ‘Here!’, you can make them a sandwich and say ‘Oh, by the way, here!’3
Think about the ask: To be nice. To be considerate. To put yourself in the shoes of someone less fortunate, and then give of yourself freely – genuinely – not in a way that is condescending – and ideally, without drawing any attention to yourself.
In fact, that is the test: No one else knows – no one else needs to know the good that you’ve done. If that’s enough, for you, then kudos! If it’s not, then there’s some work to be done on your character, but know doing that which is right is still right, even if the motivation isn’t completely pure. We’re all flawed creatures, at the end of the day.
Let’s remember that for all the commercialization, secularization, bastardization, perversion, and co-opting by less-than-benevolent interests of the holiday we call Christmas, it is the Saviour’s birth that is being celebrated, albeit imperfectly.4
Thirty-plus years later, before He bore our sins and carried our sorrows,5 He taught us how to keep what truly is The Spirit of Christmas6 – even though we only recognize it as such at this time of the year. At its essence, that’s what it is to keep The Christmas Spirit – every day, year ‘round.
It isn’t so daunting. See one Ebenezer Scrooge:7
And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, ‘God bless Us, Every One!’
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
…or, one Francis Xavier Cross:
I...I get it now! And if you...if you give, then it can happen, then the miracle can happen to you! It's not just the poor and the hungry, it's everybody who's gotta have this miracle! And it can happen tonight for all of you! If you believe in this spirit…the miracle will happen, and then you'll want it to happen again tomorrow. You won't be one of these bastards who says ‘Christmas is once a year, and it's a fraud’, it's not! It can happen every day, you've just got to want that feeling. And if you like it, and you want it, you'll get greedy for it! You'll want it every day of your life, and it can happen to you! I believe in it now!8
Perhaps the reason we seem to only respond properly to the ask during the holidays is that all too often, our response is an emotional one. Let’s admit it – we feel good when we know that we’ve genuinely given of ourselves and helped someone else. Because it’s an emotional high, it doesn’t last, no matter how greedy (in a good way) we are for it.
At some point, faith9 must replace emotion, and this is true regardless of whether you are a spiritual person. When it becomes a matter of faith, you demonstrate love for your neighbour10 year ‘round because you are confident in the hope that it will benefit another (who you may or may not know – but that doesn’t matter); and you are assured of it, even though you don’t witness it, first-hand. You believe because you know – and you know because you have been the recipient of an outward expression of it. Therefore, you continue to keep The Spirit of Christmas for its own sake, if nothing else.
One of the best parts of Joey Cantaloupe – aka The Kid – staying here, is the opportunity to make this Christmas one that will be among his own collection of priceless works of art in the form of a pleasant memory, as he won’t be with us forever.
As I write this, it occurs to me that a grand spectacle like some holiday-themed extravaganza, a live performance of The Nutcracker, attending a theatrical production of Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol, or other such event – while perhaps memorable, doesn’t require much engagement on my part. Since it is time spent that matters, and what we do is less important because regardless, it won’t be wasted11 – my hunch is that even a trip to the mall for a picture with Santa is more likely to be recalled with fondness decades from now because of the interaction, alone.
While his grandmother and I would certainly enjoy The Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol, it isn’t about us – nor is it that either one wouldn’t be memorable, but I’m not sure a nine-year-old would be able to appreciate either of them.
In recalling memorable Christmases from my own childhood – except for when I received from my sister a Minnesota North Stars sweater – there aren’t any that were particularly special because of a certain gift I received.
Rather, certain memories common to Christmas seasons over ten-plus years are more special, now: decorating cookies, the appearance of the Advent calendar, the big bowl of unshelled English walnuts (dad’s favourite), Brazil nuts, filberts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts – sometimes a trip to spend the holiday with relatives from my dad’s side, or with grandparents from my mom’s side – on one or two occasions, both.
There was the annual local Kiwanis Club Christmas Party, exclusively for the kids of members. This meant that my dad had to take more than a little extra time out of his day to leave his office, pick me up at school, drive to the event, and return me to school on his way back to his office. For a guy like my dad (Type A, highly driven) at the time, that was no small inconvenience. It was a sacrifice (so to speak) he was happy to make, but it was still more time out of his day.
Yet, what I appreciate is the time he took to make it happen. It probably amounts to not even an extra hour (either side of the party, itself), but that’s what is impressive to me now, almost fifty-three years later.
On what always seemed to be the coldest night of the month thus far, we’d all pile into the car and go to the Y’s Men’s12 Christmas Tree lot (wherever it happened to be, that year) to purchase the tree and bring it home where it would be kept in the garage for a day or two to let the branches return to their natural positions. When it was time, we’d trim it as a family, and when we finished (despite the same decorations, and the same lights), it was always more beautiful than the one from the year before.
Once, Navy Bean soup was served for Christmas Eve dinner.
To this day, mine is that it was to temper my excitement just a little, and I was not allowed to leave the table until most of my serving had been finished – by me. On another Christmas Eve, there was a chicken pox epidemic and I got ‘em. The entire break was spent with calamine lotion applied to my skin – of course, it cleared right up just a day before it was time to go back to school.
In short, it is the events of the season, and the people (mom, dad, sister, and brother) with whom they were experienced that I remember, not the material goods associated with the event of Christmas Day. So, to reiterate: it’s the time spent actively engaged that matters – it was true for me, it holds true for The California Kid, as well.
Now in our house, we make a distinction between The Christmas Spirit as discussed above, and a spirit of festive yuletide, and both are well kept. Admittedly, this is a challenge for me because here in Texas, we get cold temperatures without snow, and except for the years I lived in south Florida, I’m accustomed to Christmas looking like Christmas. No matter – like many others, one way we get festive is to watch Christmas movies.
My wife loves the ones on the Hallmark Channel, and the Hallmark Channel-like ones on Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video – therefore, I love them, too. In between those, however, are some that are recognized by me as classics to be viewed over the days and weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Ergo, the following is the definitive list of Christmas movies so-designated. While it is not open to debate, nor will it be altered, titles with which I’m not familiar may be appended to it, provided they pass muster. The films are listed roughly in the order in which they are viewed:
Thanksgiving Day
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Friday following Thanksgiving through December 23
Christmas Story (2007)
How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
A Christmas Carol (1984)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Christmas Eve
Christmas Day – all day – on a loop
It's Christmas Eve! It's...it's the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we...we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be. It's a...miracle. It's really a sort of a miracle. Because it happens every Christmas Eve. And if you waste that miracle, you're gonna burn for it, I know what I am talking about. You have to do something. You have to take a chance. You do have to get involved. There are people that are having...having trouble making their miracle happen. There are people that don't have enough to eat, or people that are cold. You can go out and say hello to these people. You can take an old blanket out of the closet and say ‘Here!’, you can make them a sandwich and say ‘Oh, by the way, here!’ I...I get it now! And if you...if you give, then it can happen, then the miracle can happen to you! It's not just the poor and the hungry, it's everybody who's gotta have this miracle! And it can happen tonight for all of you! If you believe in this spirit thing, the miracle will happen and then you'll want it to happen again tomorrow. You won't be one of these bastards who says ‘Christmas is once a year and it's a fraud’, it's not! It can happen every day, you've just got to want that feeling. And if you like it and you want it, you'll get greedy for it! You'll want it every day of your life and it can happen to you! I believe in it now! I believe it's going to happen to me now! I'm ready for it! And it's great. It's a good feeling, it's really better than I've felt in a long time. I, I, I'm ready. Have a Merry Christmas, everybody.13
There will be one more in this series, at least. I do know that the last one will be very short, and it will likely drop the day before Christmas Eve.
Thank you, dear reader, for your indulgence.
Until next time…
The power of association is strong, for me.
*A crucial part of the plot takes place during the Christmas season, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s a Christmas movie.
I wasn’t of age when it was in theaters in 1972, so my first opportunity to view it was when it aired in early December 1980 on one of the TV stations in the twin cities, heavily edited for television.
**The scene after the open takes place on Thanksgiving Day. Again, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a Christmas movie.
The very first time I viewed it was late on a Christmas Eve at the home of my sister and brother-in-law, hence, it has been associated with Christmas, ever since.
†Like, The Godfather, and, American Gangster, a crucial part of the plot takes place over the Christmas season if not Christmas itself, and that makes it a Christmas movie, in my book.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/holiday-spirit
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096061/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096061/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
I’m being generous.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
– Isaiah 53:4‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’
–1 Peter 2:24
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
–Matthew 22:37-39
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/210907-and-it-was-always-said-of-him-that-he-knew
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096061/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
–Hebrews 11:1
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’
In reply Jesus said: ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”
‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’
The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’
Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’
–Luke 10:29-37
The Y’s Men was a group of volunteers who were involved in the local chapter of the YMCA when it was still largely a Christian-oriented organization. At Christmastime, they raised money by selling Christmas trees. The rest of the year, they frequently sponsored pancake breakfasts in conjunction with other holidays, and local events.
I am old enough to recall that at the local ‘Y’, rooms were still available to anyone who needed a place to stay, short-term.
When I remember the years I took swimming lessons there after school, I can still smell the chlorine of the pool in my nostrils as I entered the building and headed for the men’s locker room to change into swim trunks.
Another interesting addition to your Christmas saga. Sorry I’m so late commenting. Unfortunately life sometimes gets in the way of desired activities.
You have quite an exhaustive list of Christmas movies. I’ve seen most of the old classics. The Rankin Bass tv specials are my personal favorites. My wife likes the Hallmark movies.
Your point about giving time to individuals instead of letting other external sources provide entertainment is a good strategy. It’s what made me decide to postpone a dive trip I was planning in order to assist my granddaughter in her performance career. If it’s one thing I know after being around a lot of the best, it’s how to be a star. If I can shape her expectations and alert her to the inevitable pitfalls it’s probably better than anything I could give her. My trip can wait until spring.
Thank you again for this series. It’s evoking a lot of dusty memories.
I love your list of Christmas movies. I have always contended that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Thank you for validating my claim. Looking forward to the next installment.