Cities are already aware by the time December tiptoes in. Bakeries are more than usually ambrosial. Traffic becomes more amiable during the week. Fairy lights are found on random balconies. Somebody, somewhere, is humming a carol slightly off-key. Even those who profess they “don’t do Christmas”, somehow find themselves doing Christmas!That is what this season is all about, it catches you off-guard. Over the years writers, poets, and even movie characters have all tried to bottle this weird, luminous emotion in just a single line. These ten come close.“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” “Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.” “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” “There’s nothing cozier than a Christmas tree all lit up.” “Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” “One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day.” “At Christmas, all roads lead home.” “Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.” “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”In reality, Christmas is seldom perfect. It is accompanied by loud kinsmen and quiet absences. With burnt food and second helpings. With aching nostalgia and sudden joy. It appears in the form of hugs that last a second longer, in messages after several months of not showing up, and in the unusual comfort of feeling more human than usual.And that is the magic these lines are always trying to cling to; not the decorations, not the date – but the feeling that gives normal life a moment of light.
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