The Day (& the Night) Before Christmas (w/excerpts) December 24, 2025

“Peace and good will!” to all. “Happy Holidays!” and “Merry Christmas!” to all who are celebrating.

May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong! May you be nourished!

“I know because it’s Christmas, you’re surely hoping for some very special sermon. I don’t think I have one, really, [because] there’s really only one message. And there’s nothing new to tell you. It’s the same message that if you’re praying (and that isn’t always true of Christians), it goes deeper and deeper and deeper. If you’re quiet once in a while (and that isn’t always true of Americans), it goes deeper and deeper and deeper.”

— quoted from “Christmas 2016: Really only One Message” homily by Richard Rohr, OFM (delivered on Sunday, December 25, 2016)

For many people around the world, it is the day — and soon will be the night — before Christmas. This is a time immortalized by the stories, songs, poems, ballets, and movies I have referenced over the last few days. Just like all of the protagonists in the stories, we have no idea who may visit us (in person or in our dreams). Just like the narrator in “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (also known as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”), which was originally published as “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” on December 23, 1823, we may have expectations and little something extra to do before we settle in for “long winter’s nap”; but, we have no idea what will happen next.

In telling the story of Christmas during yesterday’s practices, I mentioned that, the actual night before Jesus was born was not significant to everyone around Mary and Joseph. No one knew it was “the night before Christmas”. It seems obvious, I know: There was no “Christ” and therefore there was “mass for Christ”. But, really think about for a moment. Think about the fact that, even though some of them had received messages from the Angel Gabriel, Mary, Joseph, the Magi, and the unnamed people around them had no idea how lives would change… how the world would change.

Even if you look at the story historically (or allegorically) instead of spiritually and religiously, most people involved would not have imagined that the story would still be celebrated and told centuries later.

Similarly, soldiers fighting along the Western Front in World War I, today in 1914, would not have imagined that people living over a hundred years later, would still remember their Christmas Truce. They could not have imagined that there would be stories and songs and movies about their football games, their exchange of gifts, and their caroling. Stuck in their present moment, and all it entailed, they could not have known how so many would find inspiration in their actions of peace and human solidarity.

“The boys had their say, they said no (all together now)
Stop the slaughter, let’s go home
Let’s go, let’s go (all together now)
Let’s go (all together now), let’s go home
All together now (together, together)
In no man’s land (together, together)”

— quoted from the song “All Together Now” by The Farm (composed by Johann Pachelbel, lyrics by Peter Hooton and Steve Grimes) 

Even if you are not in the middle of a war or a conflict, you have something in common with those World War I soldiers. Even if you are not an immigrant and/or expecting a child during (these) uncertain times, you have something in common with Mary and Joseph. Even if you do not have Ebenezer Scrooge’s “bah humbug” attitude, George Bailey’s despair, or the the Christmas cheer of the characters around them, you have something in common with them and the papa who is visited by St. Nicholas. Even if you do not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and/or a cultural holiday — and even if you do, just at a different time — you have something in common with those who do celebrate (and those who do not).

We all have doubts and fears mixed in with hopes and dreams and wishes and prayers. We all have expectations mixed with an awareness — even if it is just a tiny bit of awareness at the very back of our minds — that we cannot know all of the wonderful things (and people) to come. Neither can we know what a difference we will make in the world and in the lives of those around us. And that, finally, is the thing we also all have in common with everyone mentioned above:

Every single one of us can do something that brings a little more peace and a little more joy into the world.

“‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.’”

— quoted the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”¹

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLES BELOW FOR MORE.

FTWMI: “A Christmas Prelude” (revised*)

Here’s A Little “something, something” for the Holi-daze (the “missing” Sunday post)

A Quick Note & EXCERPTS RE: Light & Living “A (SAD) Wonderful Life” (the “missing” Saturday post)

CLICK ON THE EXCEPTS BELOW FOR THE STORIES.

For Those Who Missed It: “Bah Humbug!” & Other SAD Sayings

For Those Who Missed It: Living “A (SAD) Wonderful Life”

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

— quoted from the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

Zoom classes are cancelled today. I have sent audio recordings to people on the Wednesday class list. You can check the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes. You can also request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra     (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

For those who are interested, the December 24^th playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “12242023 Christmas 1914”]

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).

Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.

CHECK OUT THE CALENDAR! You can kick off New Year’s Day 2026 in two ways (and in two spaces): with the very active practice of 108 Sun Salutations at 10:00 AM or with the very “chill” practice of a Restorative Yoga+Meditation practice beginning at 5:00 PM. All times are Central Standard.

Register to practice in-person (or join us via Zoom). Details are posted on the “Class Schedules” calendar.

¹NOTE: “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was originally published anonymously. It has been since been credited to Henry Livingston Jr. or Clement Clarke Moore. 

### PEACE ON EARTH! ###