It’s the holiday season, 2020 edition. In previous years, maybe the hustle and bustle of shopping, cooking, cleaning, and company visiting felt overwhelming. While some of these tasks might still be part of this year’s equation, some others might feel overwhelmed by the idea of not having any of it.

No shopping because of increasing shutdown orders, and maybe not as much cooking and cleaning since there isn’t much company planning to visit. Maybe it just doesn’t feel like Christmas, or the season is starting to feel just like the rest of this crazy year has, and it’s nothing special (like it used to be), and you just want to sit and cry it out.

We’ve all been at a breaking point (or close to it) at least once in our lives. Even before the pandemic, maybe our Christmas celebrations were more like the Griswolds’ than the Waltons’.

What helps me to stay out of this trap is keeping close to the real meaning of the season. We all know that it’s not about presents, food, or trying to impress the company with how clean or decorated our house is. It’s about one simple thing…LOVE.

God sent His Son, His only begotten, to save all mankind from an endless abyss. Only through Jesus Christ is life even possible; only because of God’s love are we able to celebrate. When the holidays start to feel like a burden rather than a joy, or when they just don’t feel like the holidays, the following help to bring it all back into perspective:

3 Nephi 1:13: The voice of the Lord speaks to Nephi and tells him that the time is at hand and the sign of Christ’s birth will be given on that night. When the sun goes down, it stays as light as noonday until the sun comes up again the next morning.

Linus, in the auditorium as the Peanuts gang practices for their Christmas pageant, recites Luke 2:8-14. When he finishes, he turns to Charlie Brown and says, “And that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” I tear up just thinking about it.

Young children and their spirit. They’re too young to understand all the distractions and the craziness of the world; they just understand pure love and joy.

So, I’ll be trying to avoid the pitfall of the holiday blues, especially the 2020 version. But, if I find myself starting to falter, I’ll think of these things to remind me of what Christmas is all about, the love God had and continues to have for all of us.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.