The transition from childhood to adulthood means so many things. Although it signifies growth, it also indicates loss. At the ripe age of 18, it almost feels like you grieve your innocence. Your brain develops in ways that force your eyes to interpret the world around you in a way less censored, safe, free, magical way.
Although adulthood invites excitement and possibility, it can start to dim the holiday’s brightness. We begin to worry about how to afford the gifts our friends and family deserve, what our travel plans will look like and how we’ll manage to fit fun, festive activities in between all of the preparation.
How do we make sure through all of the Christmas chaos that we still hear the bells pictured in the Polar Express? How do we protect that warm Christmas Eve feeling that created the Christmas memories we hold so close?
Coming Back to What We Know
Tradition is a practice humans have upheld since the beginning of our time on Earth. It’s something that guides how we live and keeps us grounded in who we are and what we come from throughout our continuous evolution. Tradition connects us and allows us to revisit a feeling and experience that we are familiar with and appreciate.
The holidays are all about tradition. Not only is it filled with the generational traditions we’ve had passed down from our ancestors, but it’s the personal ones we’ve created that sparked that initial holiday spirit.
Don’t let your adult holiday responsibilities take time away from watching your favorite Christmas movies. Prioritize playing that Christmas playlist just as much as planning your travels. There’s nothing wrong with even tracking Santa on Christmas Eve if that’s something you craved as a kid. And ultimately, we’re never too old to think about what we want from Santa for Christmas.
Sadly, our imagination tends to weaken as we age … because we let it. We accept this taught “reality” that convinces us to think that you can’t wish upon a star. That “realistically” there’s no way a mythical creature could fly through the sky and gift us everything we want and dream of.
But just like religion, the story of Christmas isn’t meant to be literal. It instills the idea that if you know what you want out of this life and you believe it can happen, anything is possible. Especially when you take time to celebrate and appreciate all of the love around you.
VALLEY thinks that experiencing Christmas as an adult can mean realizing who Santa really, truly is. As the conductor said from The Polar Express, “Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”
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