The Holiday Spirit Part 1

As we enter in to the most celebrated and recognized holiday season for Christians around the world, I began to ponder about this time of year with its heightened sense of activity and why it feels so different from the rest of the year.  In the month of November and December, there are many religions celebrating some holiday or festival.  The Christians have Advent, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  The Jews celebrate Hanukkah.  African Americans observe Kwanza.  Buddhists keep Bodhi Day.  Hindus, Pagans, and many more seem to recognize some form of holiday during this time of year.  While I will not speak to the morality or spirituality of these various religious holidays, I am interested in why this time of year is so “festive” for many religions and cultures.  And why is it that people have a greater tendency to do good and be less self-centered?  People get together with family that they ignored all year long.  They suddenly feel convicted to go to church. They donate money to charities. They feed the hungry and homeless. They give gifts to people they barely even know or do not know at all. The list goes on and on.  What is this so-called “holiday spirit” and where does it come from?  What is behind it, psychologically, that drives these good, charitable, hospitable, and even servant-like behaviors? If we discover the source, can we harness this to change the way we act and serve all the time?  Over the next few weeks, I will explore this topic to see what I uncover.