Anticipation is a complex concept in its own right, but it is especially active and easy to observe at Christmas time. Much is done in anticipation of Christmas, and those who find "the holidays" to be a trying time of year probably have their expectations set too high.
Wrapped gifts sitting under the tree before Christmas technically perform no function, but they excite the spirit of anticipation of what is to come. Part of this is the desire to find out what is inside, but in some cases this is known, so there is also the desire to actually use whatever is contained within the gift. Once they have been opened, the anticipation is gone, but now the gifts are functional. Toys are being explored, books are being read, games are being played, and tools are being used.
While my impatient younger brother's first instinct was to rip open every gift in sight, I was a little more careful. For example opening the biggest present first will cause one to under-appreciate the other ones by comparison, as they are opened later. I am sure this principle was originally enforced by my parents, but I fully grasped and embraced it from fairly early on.
I used to wake up about 4am every Christmas, and wander out into the living room. All the Christmas lights would be on, and after an eager examination of what was waiting under the tree, to "take stock of the situation," I would sit down in the rocking chair. I would just sit there for the next few hours, taking it all in, and appreciating in the moment, like at no other point in my life. It's probably the only time I can recall consciously being at peace growing up, and I reveled in it. Eventually my brother would wake up around 6am, and the excitement of Christmas would affect him a little differently. He would be bouncing off the walls until my Mom got up a few minutes later, and let each of us open one present. I assume she selected those deliberately, as something that would keep us amused for a couple hours, so that she could return to bed, and my Dad could continue sleeping. Eventually of course, everyone would get up, and we would all sit around the tree, opening gifts.
Besides the anticipation of discovering what exactly is under the wrapping, there is also the anticipation of seeing how other people will react to the gifts you have selected for them. There is also an interest in what other people are receiving, since as a family we share things, so what is given to one is usually given to all, in a sense. Clothes are an exception to that premise, but games and books will be shared over time.
I received a good deal of office supplies wrapped up as Christmas presents, especially in high school and college, courtesy of my mother. That is one tradition that I will avoid replicating with my children, because while I value giving gifts that fill needs, those needs must be things the recipient values filling for the gift to be meaningful. It also severely curtails the level of anticipation when there is a pattern of gifts with little meaning, especially if the need they were intended to fill was more than covered by something similar received the year before. (Not that I am bitter about unwrapping another scotch tape dispenser every year;)
Anyhow, I have realized that I experienced very little anticipation for Christmas this year. I have hardly noticed the decorations that appearred around, and while I did go Christmas shopping, I saw little reference to Christmas besides the ridiculously overcrowded shopping centers and parking lots. Being quite sick for the last two weeks probably contributed to missing out on all off that, but the fact that Christmas is tomorrow definitely feels a little jarring. I will have to be a bit more deliberate in my preparations next year, to better experience the anticipation of the coming event.
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