'Tis the Season

Spiritually, this has been a year of exploration and self-discovery for my husband and I. We are both baptized Catholics, yet never really identified with the Church. Neither of us find it absolutely necessary to put labels on our beliefs, but I recently found the appropriate label if I were to do so for myself. And as much as my suegra would be disappointed, it’s not Catholicism. And so for the past week, I have had an internal debate as to whether or not to put up the Christmas decorations. I say internal because I wouldn’t dare tell my husband that religion had anything to do with why the tree didn’t go up the day after Thanksgiving. He would just get annoyed and tell me to stop thinking about things so much.

For us, Christmas is a time to be with family and friends, and celebrate those relationships. It is a time where we remember what God has given us, and take extra time and consideration to appreciate it. It is a time when we relax just a little bit more and enjoy seasonal foods and traditions. I don’t want to be the one “taking the Christ out of Christmas,” but I am still struggling to determine what exactly I believe. That uncertainty has brought me a lot of guilt recently but I am beginning to see that it's unnecessary. After a lot of thought, I decided that it’s okay to put up the decorations, even if I don’t have a concrete reason behind it. At the end of the day, traditions are good and faith is good and we’ve got plenty of that at the Cruz house, even if the principals behind them are not always black and white.

Here are some pictures of this years decorations. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season so far!