10 Ways to Bring Back the Magic of Christmas

There was a time when Christmas used to bring so much joy and magic in your life. The excitement of waiting for Father Christmas, unwrapping the presents, the carol singers, the Nativity plays, the lights and ornaments on the Christmas tree, baby Jesus in a manger, the Disney cartoons, all seemed to touch a sensitive chord in your heart. Then you found out that Father Christmas was just an old fairy tale and something inside you died. As years went by, things got worse, and they’ve been getting worse and worse ever since.

You’ve seen new places, learned new things, you’re no longer the soft guy or girl who cries at the old musicals. Somehow, your soul seems to have become harder. There is always something more important to do than waste your time with silly things, especially around Christmas. The old magic seems to be gone. But is it really gone? Why don’t you try some of these tips to find out?

Stare into a shop window after the closing time.

To many of us, Christmas means, above all, shopping. Around Christmas, the shops are always crowded with people running here and there in a crazy rush to get everything they need. Why don’t you do something different this year? Choose a time after the shop is closed, preferably at night, when the streets are quiet and all the lights on. Spend an “unproductive” half an hour just staring into a shop’s window. Look at all the ornaments, at all the arrangements, at all the products exposed. Get drowned into all that explosion of colour and joy. Stop worrying about the things you need to do. Imagine life is just about here and now, and the whole world is what you see in that shop window.

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Do something totally disinterested.

We are all used to giving presents to the ones we love. Sometimes we even get involved in charity acts organized by the church or by different groups. Why not do something totally unplanned and disinterested this year? For instance, you can slip a Christmas card with a banknote in it into somebody’s post box, at random. You could say a prayer before, asking God to guide you to someone who would need and appreciate it. You’ll never know whom you gave it to, but I can guarantee it will make you feel better.

Pray with all your heart

Maybe you haven’t prayed for a long time. Maybe you don’t believe in prayer. Maybe you don’t even believe in God. If that’s the case, the experiment will be even more interesting. First make sure you find a quiet place, when no one disturbs you. Sit on your needs and adopt the classical position for praying. Then close your eyes and start praying aloud. Imagine God is in front of you and now it’s your only chance to tell him what you think or how you feel. Let the words flow, don’t oppose any resistance. Pour your soul into words, let go of all your concerns, all your fears, all your questions. Grab this opportunity, as if it were the last. Beg him, as if your whole life depended on it. Cry like a child. Cry for all the injustice and cruelty in the world, for all the troubles in your life, for everyone you loved and you lost, for everything you long for. When you raise up from your knees, you’ll notice that, somehow, the world around you has mysteriously changed. It hasn’t. You have.