What Is Christmas In The Day Essay

The Dark Behind the Light
In our lives, we go through stages of mindset and maturity that naturally coincide with aging. One thing that remains the same, though, through all of these stages, is that eventually, we die; we are completely aware of that as humans. Whether because it’s due to the painful reality that is mortality, our ever-diminishing ability to be wistful and imaginative, or merely the impending coming of the Grim Reaper, our entire lives are, ironic as it is, surrounded by and flooded with death. However, as we grow older, our perception of death changes. It goes from taboo in our young ages to something that begins to surround and eventually consume us as we grow older. Between the poems “For the Anniversary of my Death” by

From the cookies and presents, to the break from school, there are many factors that bring glee to the heart of any child; however, one aspect of Christmas has this affect more than any other, and that is Santa Claus. Being the bringer of presents, the symbol of Christmas, and the spreader of joy, his character is iconic, and known by all. With this, though, comes the eventual realization that this man we so adore, does not exist. It is soul crushing to say the least, as in essence, one of our idols has died. For a child, this death is perhaps the beginning of their maturation; once the realization has come, there is a part of the child that grows up. In the poem “The Death of Santa Claus” by Charles Webb, he writes, “he (Santa Claus) can't breathe, and the beautiful white world he loves goes black,” (line 13). While he is discussing Santa, and his passing, this line could also be in reference to the child. The beautiful white world is the whimsical fantasy that is childhood; our imaginations are the very thing that bring that world to life, and when we begin to learn that the things we believed so strongly are not real, the once illuminated, endless world goes black. This goes along with the way we view death as children. In the shows we watch, books we read, and movies we see, death is portrayed as someone ‘seeing the light.’ Naturally, due to our lack of understanding of such a topic, this

It seems as though medicine is constantly improving, as is our understanding of terminal illness, making it easier for us to live beyond what even our grandparents have. However, this ability to almost cheat death is changing our perception of death; it seems unreal. In the article Denying and Defying Death: The Culture of Dying in 21st Century America by Deborah Waldrop, this exact complex is discussed. Although we are less expecting of death as a society, it is still at large. Modern medicine may improve by the day, but many things remain unsolved. Diseases grow resilient to medication, many are left unanswered, and some of the remaining illnesses we suffer from are simply ruthless. We have yet to find cures for cancer, for HIV/AIDs, for multiple sclerosis, and yet we believe we, as people, are cheating death. Young people are especially negatively impacted; at the age of 17, I had only experienced the death of two family members. While this is a blessing, it is also extremely influential on my perception of death. Not 50 years ago, it would have been likely that I would not have any grandparents, and that my parents’ health would be declining. Death would be normal, and expected. So naturally, when my grandmother passed away in the spring, I was taken aback; I knew she was sick and that she had spent years suffering through multiple sclerosis, however, death was not something I anticipated. The advancements of medicine