And so this is Christmas
It’s that time of year again and I was reflecting on how we all have our personal connections with Christmas and what it means to us. It can be a time to reflect on past events and the closing of another year, a party season which seems to drag on for longer than we want and a time to experience spiritual gratitude.
For me, it is about coming together with those I love reaching out to organise lunches, walks and events with friends and family in that last minute dash to cram in a pre-New Year catch up as though January doesn’t exist. Even though this can feel burdensome, there is an appeal or even a need for me to connect with others at this time of year.
When I look at some of the things that Christmas is bound in, laughter seems to be at the heart of what we look to experience. Christmas party games require us to silently act out books and films with wild and frantic gestures, draw stupid pictures and answer risqué questions – all for the amusement of others. Christmas jumpers and reindeer antlers become common garb in December, entering the workplace as well as social spaces. Our TV schedule becomes lighter and more whimsical, including many re-runs of old comedies from days gone by. We know that laughter is something to be sought after and that we can induce in others by ridiculous behaviour and silly clothing, and we look for it and offer it during this festive season.
Coming together is a part of Christmas that is integral to so many of us and how we choose to come together always interests me. We know that human to human connection is integral to our wellbeing and those who are alone at many times of the year are often recognised by neighbours, distant relations and charities at Christmas. Some of these connections can be about providing practical support – but what we all want is something a bit deeper and more meaningful and we know that laughter is a great source of building successful relationships, even between relative strangers. Because of this, we encourage you to make sure that when supporting others, we share our laughter as liberally and comfortably as we share our time and effort.
Anna and I have such a deep-rooted connection with laughter that we notice it everywhere. We are far from party poopers, but as we build our research, we are always on the look-out for those incidental occasions where connections are built through a small, often unnoticed, laugh. For many of us we have finally had the opportunity in 2021 for some face-to-face connections with others and feel more grateful for this than ever before. We know that laughter has played its fair share of these get-togethers and how much easier it is to laugh with someone rather than through the screen. Hopefully, this Christmas it is likely you will be spending time with people you are grateful to have in your life, so let yourself go with the stupid party hats, games and singalongs. It really is good for you to spread Christmas cheer.
We don’t have to spell out all the ways you can connect using laughter over this holiday period – your relationship with laughter is personal - but we will remind you to use this super-connector as part of your time with others.
We realise that recent events and changes to meeting up rules are being advised, and may even come into force – but those limitations may make laughter more important than ever.
Finally, we would love to wish the thousands of people who have connected with us during 2021 a very Merry Christmas and look forward to sharing more laughs with you next year when we might see more of you in real life.
Jane and Anna