Christmas is a joyous, but also painful, time for many. My nurse just told me that she wasn’t sure if she was going to put up her Christmas tree because it reminded her of her husband who recently died of cancer. Another young woman in our office is grieving her baby boy’s diagnosis of eye tumors. Over the holiday, she will bring him to the hospital for eye surgery and pray for him not to lose his sight. Christmas may feel like more of an annoyance than a celebration to her.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT CHRISTMAS THAT MAKES US SO SAD?

We see uplifting Christmas movies on television, advertisements of folks busily buying gifts for one another, and we work hard at creating an atmosphere of celebration. Lights sparkle on doorways, candles light up windows, and neighbors give one another cookies and chocolates. My neighbor pulls his sleigh out, hitches up two enormous draft horses, and gives the neighbors rides through his fields. With so much delight abounding, why are we so blue?

After six decades, I think I’m beginning to understand. The sadness, I believe, comes from many places and from different levels. First, when we see delight around us,…