The Spirit of Christmas
by Ian McCarthy-Kelley '17

What I want for Christmas
is not so much a thing
as it is a Feeling

It is the Electric feeling in the air
the Palpable Static which comes from every storefront
and every suburban front lawn
filled with perpetual reminders that
for One month out of Twelve
we are expected to be Joyous and Kind

It is the feeling
of bringing from basements boxes
filled with relics imbued with a lifetime of Memories
and of unpacking Traditions
which have an even greater weight

And we wrap these feelings up
in lights and trees and oversized socks
and in old standard songs and cinema
with themes of Joy and of Love and of God

As I have gotten older
Christmas Day has seemed less important
because I no longer wait to see what Santa Claus has brought
but the Season maintains its power
and I suppose
It always will