Charlotte Henley Babb is on tour now with CLP Blog Tours and Maven Fairy Godmother: Through the Veil. Please visit her tour page for more information and a giveaway!
Are you light-hearted this holiday season?
Christmas. Hanukkah. Pancha Ganapati. Winter Solstice. Soyal. Yule. Yaldi. Kwanzaa.
Festivus for the Rest of Us.
A season of lights, which centers on the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, appears in many cultures. The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. We forget how dark and cold winter was when all the food was what had been grown and stored the year before. Each festival honors the hope of the return of life and light both to the world and to the soul.
In America, people decorate with hundreds, even thousands, of lights, draped over their houses, doorways, bushes, and in my neighborhood, a rock. Last night I saw a single strand of lights around a business doorway, and thought how sad and pathetic it looked.
It didn’t seem light-hearted. But the business owner had added a bit of light to a dull, dark street.
People talk about the “magic” of Christmas while they are in the midst of planning parties, overeating sugary treats, losing sleep over getting everything done, and in the back of their minds, wondering if they will be able to pay for it all. They are not light-hearted.
I’m often asked why I write funny fairy tales. I think we need to lighten up. Just as it makes the neighborhood more festive to turn on the lights, it makes life better to laugh.
I prefer not to go the “comedy” route of showing people getting hurt, as I saw on a “reality” TV show where the intention was for people to fall or get knocked down or punched as they tried to navigate an obstacle course. Pain is not funny. I don’t think that F-bombs are funny either, in themselves. There’s no shock value in WTF or FTW, so why bother?
Of course, any comic situation is tragic for the protagonist, but we always root for her to come through with pluck, determination, or even dumb luck. It’s especially fun when her bumbling (misguided, innocent, contrary, take your pick) efforts outshine the tried and true. Many of us would like to be able to face a new challenge and prevail by doing it our way. That’s what Maven does—the best she can where she is with what she knows.
Isn’t that what you do every day? You are adding light to the world.
So as you find yourself in the conflicts of family traditions, the dilemma of what to let go and what to keep, the demands on time, talent and tolerance for the changes in your routine, try to lighten up. If a given day is tough, and they always are, remember that the wise men came seeking the wherever the star led them. They found peace. You can too.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light.” Lyric by Ralph Blane
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Charlotte Henley Babb is the author of Maven Fairy Godmother: Through the Veil, available from Muse It Up Publishing ( http://bit.ly/MavenFGM ), Smashwords, Amazon and B&N. Her websites are http://charlottehenleybabb.com and http://mavenfairygodmother.com. Find her on facebook at http://facebook.com/charlotte.henley.babb
Giveaway!
**Everyone who leaves a comment on Charlotte’s tour page will be entered in the giveaway! Anyone who purchases their copy of Maven Fairy Godmother: Through the Veil before December 31 and sends their receipt to Samantha (at) ChickLitPlus (dot) com, will get five extra entries in a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card!! Two bonus winners will receive a wand from Charlotte Henley Babb! Please note this is open to US/Canada residents only.**
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