KS&L 88: Holiday Service Part 2

by Tina Erwin

In part I of Holiday Service we discussed the element of spiritual service in doing things for other people throughout the year. How do we view the volume of effort required for Christmas and Hanukkah?

December is a challenge because there seems to be so much for everyone to do:

· Shop for gifts, wrap presents

· Get the Tree

· Decorate the Tree

· Keep the tree watered

· Plan meals

· Grocery shop

· Decorate the house

· Plan parties

· Grocery shop

· Do the holiday cards, buy the stamps, write the yearly letter, collate and mail.

· Help out at school, church and/or office parties

· Grocery shop

· Make the list of food gifts to give

· Grocery shop

· Make all the food, do the baking, package the items

· Mail things

This modest, very incomplete list above usually falls to women who think they have to do it all. Getting your family members to help will reduce some stress and let everyone have the opportunity of doing service. This can be as simple as making the list and letting them make the grocery runs and some of the dinners so that you can do the extras.

The real service is in the patience of doing the mundane, day-to-day things of getting ready. People love a house filled with the smells of the holidays. If your holidays were horrific growing up, mitigate the past sadness by making the present something warmly memorable.

It is so wonderful to come home to a house beautifully decorated with bright candles and wonderful food. The element of the house and the food are tremendous service to all family members.

What makes it difficult for the person doing the planning, cooking, shopping and decorating is that people take their efforts for granted. It just looks so easy. Family members frequently don’t seem grateful for what has been done because you always do it. They are not callous or unkind; it is just that your excellent work is normal to them. Your service is transparent to them but transparent or not, it does not change the fact that it is service all the same. Even if family members do not overtly recognize it, it is appreciated on some level.

You earn the karma for your efforts because you are creating the memories that they will treasure and emulate. You are teaching them what a warm holiday looks and feels like, and that lesson changes the future. That is the purpose of this work, the reason for this effort: creating a pattern of love, hard work and togetherness. This is part of the element of what makes the holidays an important example of spiritual service. In essence, it is the real reason for the season, displaying your love through your service.