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Recent encounters reinforce notion Christmas is for kids

If you are like me, you may have channeled your inner Druid yesterday morning. Yes, the winter solstice arrived at 6:35 a.m. Thank you solar system, you are the best. The days are getting longer and I am pretty darn happy for that.

If you are like me, you may have channeled your inner Druid yesterday morning. Yes, the winter solstice arrived at 6:35 a.m. Thank you solar system, you are the best. The days are getting longer and I am pretty darn happy for that.

“Yule” as it was known in ancient Germanic and Scandinavian cultures was essentially a celebration of what was to come. Fir tree boughs were used to represent the approaching spring and there is a correlation between the wacky Roman calendar, Christ Mass and the winter solstice.

Christmas is celebrated by many cultures but its secular beginnings, borne of Pagan roots, have been slowly slipping out of the equation, losing priority to the apparently far more powerful force of capitalism and its blood brother commercialism. Pew Research recently published a study that “finds that most U.S. adults believe the religious aspects of Christmas are emphasized less now than in the past — even as relatively few Americans are bothered by this trend.” Although you would hope that this not be the case in Canada, that trend is likely the same here and elsewhere.

With Black Fridays, Red Thursdays, Cyber Mondays, constant ‘blowouts” and Boxing Day/week/month sales, you can see how many of us can become distracted.

Everyone can attest to some of the stress and anxiety the season presents, but focusing on the fun aspects of this time of year is a good way to stickhandle through the angst.

Even if we do not have an affinity for the secular aspects of Christmas, I am sure we can all agree that getting together with loved ones is the key to enjoying the celebration.

Another certainty is that Christmas is for kids. Some of my fondest memories are from family Christmases of yesteryear, both as a kid and as a parent, and I presume this is true for you too.

I have been particularly lucky the past couple of weeks to visit schools and talk to the kids about food-related topics, but also to ask them about their plans for Christmas. The primary kids have been bouncing off the walls lately, but it has been so heartwarming to hear what they are going to do, eat and to hear what they think the big man will haul down the chimney for them on Sunday night.

I have received some adorable Christmas cards from the young farmers and have learned some nutritional tricks along the way. I always bring veggie snacks for the youngsters. Reindeer food has been on the menu of late. It is amazing to see how many pieces of carrot and celery the kids can eat when they are told that eating lots of veggies makes the reindeer fly.

I’m hoping they are all surrounded by the warmth and love of their friends and families so they too can look back fondly on these days as some of the best of their lives and eventually recreate the feeling for their own children one day.

In a few days all of the hype and stress will go away but the memories will remain to savour.

I’m looking forward to a great 2018 and I hope you are too. Merry Christmas everybody!

Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.