Preparing for the post-Christmas Day blues

Dec 24, 2014

By Maureen Pratt
Whether you are one of those who reach a Santa saturation point in mid-December, or someone who gets the blues when the presents are all unwrapped, the aftermath of Christmas Day can be a puzzle or a problem.

The Christmas season seems to begin earlier each year. By early November, stores are beginning to put up their decorations and their holiday gift suggestions. Snippets of carols can be heard in music piped in overhead. We're urged to “plan early,” book travel and shed those extra pounds many weeks in advance of Dec. 25.

We’re so bombarded by early holiday cheer that the truly uplifting sense of joy at the gift of Jesus Christ can be dulled, even obscured, by so much secular sensationalism. So, after we “rejoice” at midnight Mass, we might still be a bit bleary-eyed and not at all filled with deeply felt holiday cheer.

After Christmas, pressures directly related to the holidays can blur our sense of spiritual satisfaction. Overspending can lead to a mountain of bills. Overeating can lead to a mountain of extra weight. Long-rehashed family conflicts can cause lasting scars.

Then there’s the sheer work of putting away ornaments and other decorations. This activity can tax even an able-bodied person, as evidenced by the number of people who seem to give up and leave up their light displays well into spring or summer.

Of course, even with these troubles, we should not give up on Christmas. However, a little preparation for its aftermath can help ease us back into our “regular” lives, feeling more uplifted, encouraged and moved by the holy day we celebrate.

The more we focus on the treasures of the Christmas season instead of on one day, the more we will take all that is good about Christmas into the months ahead.

For example, start by focusing on positive people and experiences. It’s not a tragedy if an heirloom ornament breaks, but it is a blessing that multiple generations of the family help to trim the tree. It’s not a crisis if our cards are delivered late, but it is a great blessing to keep in touch with loved ones beyond the holidays.

After Christmas Day, when we take a peek at our bank account or step on the scale and see we've fallen short of where we think we should be, keeping the meaning of Christmas – God’s abundant blessings and love for us – at the forefront will make it easier for us to forgive ourselves and move ahead with greater resolve.

Sometimes, it can be easy to turn cynical about charitable giving during the holidays. We get so many requests for help, financial or otherwise. But that cynicism can melt away if, after Christmas, we give of our time and money, when it is perhaps less expected and more needed.

Celebrating the joy of the season can be exhausting, especially if we take on all of the cooking, visiting, caroling, buying, wrapping and gifting. A treasure you can give to yourself is to write a letter detailing what wore you out and what lifted you up this Christmas. Tuck it into a calendar to read around late September of the following year. Make plans for the upcoming Christmas season so that you aren’t so spent next time. You may want to include more moments of introspection and prayer and minimize cost and stress.

I wonder sometimes what the journey back home was like for the Wise Men and the shepherds during their “Christmas aftermath.” I think that, no matter what road they took or how long their journey, their lives were profoundly changed. And I pray that Mary’s example of treasuring in her heart that blessed night and the days that followed will be a guide for us in the year and road ahead.