Monday, December 10, 2012

The Holiday Spirit

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is Christmas really in 2 weeks? I seriously need to finish shopping... I'm really bad at gift giving. I like getting people things that they like, but the pressure of doing it between November 15th when I start to think about it and December 24th when it has to be done is sometimes too much.

But this year, as Christmas approaches, I'm trying not to stress too much about gifts and I'm trying to enjoy the season and remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Basically the past 8 years (except 1) have been focused on final exams, so this year it's so nice to not have to think about memorizing [useless] facts and I can do start some traditions of my own in DC.

This past weekend I went to an ice show at National Harbor. The theme this year was "Shrek the Halls" and there were millions of pounds of ice and amazing ice sculptures carved with such detail that I couldn't believe my eyes. The only downside to the exhibit was the fact that it was only 9 degrees. Although we were provided with parkas, it was cold! But definitely worth it. 

One thing that really impressed me was at the end of the Shrek part, there was a nativity scene sculpted out of ice. I loved that it was just pure ice without any color and I also loved that every 3ish minutes, Shrek retold the story of the birth of Christ.

Even in a world where everything seems to be "PC" and Christmas seems to be more about Santa Clause and his Reindeer, this ice exhibit with its gorgeous nativity scene was able to remind me that it's ok to talk about Christ at Christmas. 

Although I've grown up celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas, and sometimes it is complicated to talk about religion and holidays, this really just reminded me that it's ok to celebrate and share things that are important to you. And to remember that Christ was born and that He lives.

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