Tell Us About . . . Celebration: Reflecting on Victories and Milestones

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I think Christmas is about celebration and come on, on the inside everyone wants to dance. ~TobyMac

I love birthdays, holidays, and anything that calls for a celebration. ~Kim Zolciak-Biermann

We've just celebrated Christmas, and celebrating a New Year is right on the horizon. Many folks start celebrating the Christmas season at the beginning of December, or around Thanksgiving time. Some of us pack it all up on December 26th, and for others, that's just the second day of Christmas and that season of celebration will last until January 6th and Epiphany. Only a couple of weeks ago many people were celebrating Hanukkah. Maybe, like me, you have a birthday to celebrate this month, or maybe even an anniversary.

Celebrations are about remembering important events, marking milestones and victories, and honoring the people in our lives who are part of those happy occasions. We celebrate religious holidays, national days, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, retirements, and many other big events in our lives. And we should!

Years ago, when we were homeschooling our kids, I thought it would be good to use cultural celebrations from around the world to help us learn more about those cultures. It could quickly get overwhelming! Take a look at the December 2023 Office Holidays calendar for an example of what I mean! There are also countless less official 'National' Days for everything from cleaning out your fridge to eating ice cream, from honoring workers in various professions to celebrating your pets. Yes, a party every day can be too much, but do we really need to wait until a special day on the calendar to celebrate achievements and make our loved ones feel special?

Our time on this earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moment. ~Paulo Coelho

While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed. ~Mattie Stepanek

There's more to celebrate than just a couple of big holidays and birthdays, more achievements to celebrate than just weddings and graduations. Those are big celebrations, but there are lots of small steps getting us to those big days, and I started to feel like those should be made special somehow too. I didn't want to save my china for only one or two special occasions a year, or be completely unfamiliar with dressing up for something special. 

As part of our family celebrations, we use the china regularly. We take pictures of the whole family around the table (which is a whole family tradition with us!) or at the concert or event we're taking in together. 

Like many families, we turned some events into traditions with special things to set them apart. For instance, my daughter and I both sang in choruses, and she went on to study voice at college which meant various recitals. My daughter attended my chorus concerts and it became traditional for us to go out for dessert with friends afterwards. That carried on as a way to celebrate after her chorus concerts, and then for some of her recitals. 

One year our pastor preached a series on family and challenged the congregation to eat a family dinner at least one night a week. Well, our family ate dinner together about five nights a week, and at that time in our lives it was very common for the kids' friends to join us for those meals too. I remember taking pictures of our "family dinners" that month and sharing them on social media, tagging the church and #familydinnerchallenge or something like that, and telling the pastor that posting photos should have been part of the challenge! Most of our family dinners were very simple, economical meals, and sometimes eaten on paper plates, but they were a celebration every time. 

If we're honest, sometimes we don't feel much like celebrating, or it doesn't seem like we have much to celebrate. For me, 2022 had some really tough days, since my husband and I experienced two sudden job losses during that year. The second time we both lost our jobs! That was rough! But my husband found a new job quickly in both cases, and even though we had to quickly pack up and move at the end of the year for that new job, it seemed like just hard DAYS and we really had a lot to be thankful for so those hard days should have passed quickly. We really did celebrate the way God provided those new jobs and everything we needed!

But 2023 was a bit different, at least for me, as the loneliness and isolation of new surroundings started weighing on me after the whirlwind of moving and Christmas celebrations settled down. It was hard to feel like there was much to keep me going, and the celebrations of getting together with family were too far apart for my liking. Going to church became an even bigger deal, because I so needed to be with people and be reminded of God's faithfulness. It took weeks of encouragement and prodding from my husband and some friends for me to find the women's chorus that I joined. Joining the chorus turned out to be something to celebrate each week, as there was a sense of purpose in preparing and those ladies made a point of celebrating 'good news' and achievement every week. It took many more weeks for me to remember what confidence and courage felt like, and to start looking for a part-time job. When I found a job I liked and started working, that felt like a big achievement to celebrate too. 

The master was full of praise. "Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!"

~Matthew 25:21~

In that parable Jesus showed how the 'boss' invited the servants who did a good job to celebrate the achievement and their promotion. There's a lot more to learn from that parable, but I think it is also an example that we can celebrate a job well done.

Every thing in life that's first should be a celebration or celebrated with a lot of oomph. ~Kriti Sanon

Celebration is a kind of food we all need in our lives, and each individual brings a special recipe or offering, so that together we will make a great feast. Celebration is a human need that we must not, and can not, deny. It is richer and fuller when many work and then celebrate together. ~Corita Kent

I think we need to celebrate a little something every day, every week, every month. Definitely the birthdays and anniversaries and graduations should be celebrated. So should special calendar days like Valentines Day and Thanksgiving. So should a baby's first steps, a student getting through exams at school, and wrapping up big projects at work. Then there are the milestone moments in life to celebrate like big promotions at work, an engagement, or the announcement of a baby on the way! And those wonderful unexpected occasions for rejoicing together, like a prodigal coming home, which was a cause for great celebration in another parable Jesus told! And yes, sometimes, for some of us, during some seasons of our lives, it is a victory just to get up, get dressed, and make it through a day, and if that's where you are, celebrate that you did it and you are loved.

In every season there is something to celebrate, because we can always celebrate God's faithfulness and goodness to us.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation commends your works to another;

they tell of your mighty acts.

They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty―

and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They tell of the power of your awesome works―

and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They celebrate your abundant goodness

and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

~Psalm 145:3-7~

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Tell Us About . . . is a monthly opportunity for bloggers to showcase their creativity. Each month one of the co-hosts will choose the word to focus on. On the third Thursday of every month we'll respond to the prompt "Tell Us About ---" which could be absolutely anything. And how we respond is also wide open. It could be a blog post with our opinions or reminscences; a poem, photos, a short story or whatever takes your fancy―it could even be a mix of all these! This month's theme is "Celebration" and our hostess is Deb of Deb's World

This post is linked at Is This Mutton

I'm participating in the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write, and I'm using my "double dip" option as I reflected on 2023 and included quite a few quotes in this post! Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will also be linked at #WQ #52: Reflections on 2023/Writer's Choice

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