After Christmas

It is cold. Bitingly cold. There is an elderly man facing a headwind as he moves down the street. Oddly enough he looks like Deniro's tough guy face.

I get to the grocery store. there is a bad trumpet player out of rhythm with a Salvation Army bell ringer. Both are bundled against the wind, but smiling. As I check out at the cash register, a high school band plays Christmas carols for the enjoyment of the shoppers.

Merriment in the cold. A lighter spirit at Christmas time. Joy is spread like a carpet, keeping the cold from winning. It is a grand buildup to a single day and then it's over. 

CS Lewis in his book "The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" talked about the curse on the land as being always winter, but never Christmas. But to me that begs the question, how long does the joy stay around after that grand day ends. What happens then?

Moving into January the days are dark and cold. They are to be endured. The trumpets, the bells, the impromptu  caroling evaporate, and what is left is the hope that if we hold out long enough, Spring will arrive and life begins anew.