Something shifts each year between the Winter Solstice and Christmas Day. A subtle inner glow lightens the burdens. Something pulls the reins to slow down the frantic horses. But we need to tune in…

The more I work with the Rudolf Steiner’s Calendar of the Soul and my own Soulful Sparks of Inspiration, the more sensitive I become to superficial packaging of media during the holidays. New York City is ablaze with external decorations. But what do we find inside the buildings? More fancy boxes, labeled with big names to house over-priced items. “No poetry at all, no magic,” wrote one of my friends.

Have your ever looked deeper into the Christmas gift-giving tradition? How did it begin? Why has it evolved into the crazed shopping frenzy?

In the chapter on gifts in his book Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, Ace Collins nicely summarizes the origins and development of giving the presents in December. In a nutshell, the three wise men bringing gifts to the Christ child merged with the Roman practice of New Year’s gifting during Saturnalia. Later, the legend of St. Nicholas (270 AD – 343 AD), a Greek bishop, prompted the giving of presents to children on December 6th. Fast forward to the industrial revolution, which enabled mass production of items of all sorts. Any ideas how to generate more profit anyone? Marketing led the way with print catalogs and direct mail delivery. From about 1900 onward, the Christmas shopping became the driving force of American and European economy.

When I was riding the NYC subway between Brooklyn and Manhattan before the Christmas, I was looking at people’s faces and said to myself: “I hope they’ll find the presents within their hearts, beyond the purchased goods, beyond the brand labels.”

No, I don’t do Christmas shopping, or very little of it. I actually avoid buying anything between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I only purchase what’s necessary. Instead, I try to connect with friends and family, almost all of whom live far away from where I am. A phone call to my family in Slovenia, Europe. A talk over the phone with a close friend or two in the US.

Giving gifts in itself is a beautiful human gesture, but it becomes distorted when stimulated by profit. How does it feel when you receive a mass-produced, store-bought-and-wrapped gift, no matter how professionally done? What about a present that is handmade, or at least personally wrapped by the giver? To me, the first one is empty, regardless of the value of the item inside. Yes, I’m grateful for the thought, but can’t help the impression that the stuff was given by the person’s money, and not by his or her heart.

When I receive a gift that’s at least wrapped, no matter how clumsily, by the person who gave it to me, my heart rejoices. Even if the item itself is store-bought and mass-produced, I sense more wholesome intention and involvement by the giver, thus making the present more personal and special.

After all, isn’t giving supposed to be an offering from my heart to yours? A soulful token of appreciation, friendship, love?

I feel the spirit child within my soul

freed of enchantment.

In heart-high gladness has

the holy cosmic Word engendered

the heavenly fruit of hope,

which grows rejoicing into worlds afar

out of my being’s godly roots.

~ Weekly Verse 38 by Rudolf Steiner from The Calendar of the Soul
(trans. Ruth & Hans Pusch, with a slight revision by Marta Stemberger)

The essence of my Soul

awakens in new Light.

My heart rejoices:

In Love a song is born,

the song of pure hope,

echoing across the heavens,

anchored in my Spirit roots.

~ Soulful Spark 38 by Marta Stemberger

I used to make holiday cards from scratch to give or send to family, friends, acquaintances. My creative self enjoyed the process, imbuing each card with my energy. Why did I stop? Lack of time. We all get pulled into the non-stop lifestyle of the post-modern world. Each moment of our waking hours is stuffed to the brim with rushing and frenzy: “I need to do this. I need to check out that.” Economy-driven and marketing-fueled overload of activities lead us away from the heart. The result? We buy gifts instead of creating them. Yes, there are some beautiful handcrafted or wholesomely produced products on the market. Items made with love and mindful use of technology. They may be a little bit more expensive than the mass-produced heart-less stuff, but you’re supporting an individual artisan or a small collective with your purchase.

Wouldn’t it be nice to create a holiday greeting card yourself? Handwrite a wonderful poem on a nice piece of paper, knit a fun hat, bake a delicious muffin to give and share with friends and family. But most of all, allow time to engage with people in genuine heart-to-heart activities.

And don’t forget yourself. The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day offers us time to slow down. It’s a gentle nudge from the Universe to journal, read inspiring words, nourish the Soul. No big planning, just a mindful review of the year past and cozy strokes towards creating your own true song. Imagine your dream in the soft lavender healing glow of your awakened heart.

May you be uplifted into joyous holidays.

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Over to you, dear Soulful Reader:

WHAT DREAM SPARKLES IN YOUR AWAKENED HEART?

I invite you to share your thoughts + impressions below.

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Treat yourself to insightful name analysis…

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