Getting the Christmas Spirit

Every year the intangible moment when I first feel the Christmas spirit comes in a different way. Christmas spirit is the feeling of knowing that it is Christmas, almost believing in Father Christmas, feeling the joy of the Christ-child and the magical miracle of his birth.

Sometimes I feel it first through certain smells, the chocolate and gingerbread and sugar and tree sap and cold, dead leaves and cranberries and spices and my Gramma's perfume and the smell of the pages of Lord of the Rings. Sometimes I feel it when I hold a leaf frozen perfectly in a layer of ice. Sometimes when I feel the dough of cookies gritty with sugar, or the heaviness of warm blankets in bed, or cold hands on my face, or the softness of a sweater, then I know it truly is Christmas. Sometimes I feel it when I taste the short sweetness of meringue, or steal a spoon of cold cookie dough, or the cold air on my tongue. Sometimes I feel it when I hear the sound of bells, or the gentle crooning of Bing Crosby, or the glorious melodies of Christmas sung by Kathleen Battle, or the heartbreaking Christmas in the Trenches, or the sound of scissors cutting through wrapping paper. Sometimes it happens when I see our yard frozen into a winter wonderland, or when the tree lights shine, or the sparkle in someone's eyes or the stars late as night.

How do you find your Christmas spirit?