It’s late December in elementary school, and the incandescent light leaves the room dim but warm with emotion. You’ d spent the entirety of the past two weeks reminding your mom to pick up the Walmart blue and pink sugar cookies because you wanted to be known as the kid who brought the best snack. The laughter between you and your friends, the faulty speaker on your teacher’s laptop blasting Christmas music–all of these are parts of the nostalgic Christmas experience. Although there were many things wrong with the annual Christmas party, the pure holiday joy was enough. But since then, a lot has changed.
As we grew a little older, our middle school experiences were cut short. We were striving to become a part of something bigger than our bedrooms; we strived to go back to that elementary classroom where we could share snacks and napkins without worrying about disease. The reliance on the internet for interaction ruined Christmas for many, especially those who were younger when the pandemic hit. The magic of Santa and elves were diminished, and that’s why the nostalgia is so intense now that we’ve grown up.
Sure, we could try and recreate the same memories, but it just wouldn’t be the same. You might not have noticed, but the lights have changed. Classrooms used to have incandescent lights instead of LED, lit up by heat, but because they were unsafe and emitted greenhouse gases, they stopped being distributed in 2012. Unbeknownst to you, there was danger looming right over you, but because you were so focused on the plate of sweets right in front of you, greenhouse gases were the last thing on your mind. This is the magic that we yearn for, and the magic we’ll never get back. Instead we are worried about the healthiness of our food and the safety of the room. We delve deep into the consequences of every action we take–even the most inconsiderate people consider their environment more than the kids we used to be. Part of growing up is becoming conscious of our reality. To create space for mindfulness, we had to sacrifice the unobservant innocence of our childhood minds.
Although the feeling will never be the same, this doesn’t mean that the holiday season can never bring you that same joy again. With friends you can do Secret Santa’s, go ice skating at the Worcester commons, exchange white elephant gifts, and other silly parties that embrace the love we find in spending time with one-another during this holiday season.
