It is a few days before Christmas. My shopping is done. My Christmas cards are out and the presents are under the tree. That normally would be my dream for me when it is a few days before Christmas. That dream is not a reality.

This year my reality is a little different than other years. My Christmas decorations are up but there are no presents under the tree. I am not going shopping, and I am not going to stress out that my Christmas cards still have not been mailed.

I changed the way I do Christmas this year. And, yes, I am going to use the words “Merry Christmas.” Christmas is about Jesus birth. I am sorry if I offend anyone when I wish you a merry Christmas, but that is what the holiday is all about for me, Jesus’ birth. I grew up with Christmas vacation, Christmas pageants in school and Nativity scenes on public property. I grew up at a time when, yes, we received presents, but the main focus was on Jesus’ birth. Christmas was not so commercialized and money-oriented.

So the one thing I am not changing about my Christmas this year is wishing people a merry Christmas instead of a happy holiday.

I am not shopping this year. One of the reasons is financial, and the other is trying to find a more peaceful way to enjoy my Christmas season. I am paring down, and I have started a blog following my journey. So this year I am making my gifts from material I have bought in previous years to make those gifts for my children, grandchildren and friends. I am having so much fun doing that. I can’t believe what I am finding that I have tucked away. There will be dolls for the girls and a Spiderman clock for the boys and a few surprises along the way.

My friends and I have decided to exchange gifts using something we have that we like and want to share with them. We are not giving each other something we want to get rid of but gifting something that has a place in our hearts that we want to give them from our heart.

Usually at this time of year I am running around trying to find the perfect gift, fighting the crowds, being irritable and not enjoying the season at all. This year I have had time to bake, time to attend holiday concerts and spend time with friends. This year I have had time to sit in the silence and enjoy the beauty of the lights of my tree and my decorations. I thought I would miss the shopping but there is a peace in my heart that I have not found other years.

I will get my cards out, but I probably will do them little by little, and if they don’t get to their destination until after Christmas I am sure not too many people will care. I am finding a little peace in my world in the midst of all the turmoil in the bigger world.

In the midst of my paring down, I found a letter my uncle in Los Angeles wrote in 1962 near Christmas Time. John F. Kennedy was president, and the world was facing a crisis.

My uncle wrote these words: “It sure looks like we could be involved in another war. It scared the heck out a lot of people here. It just doesn’t seem as we will ever have peace on earth.”

Those words written 47 years ago could have been written today.

There are some things that haven’t changed over the years. Looking back at Christmas carols, it seems the letter my uncle wrote rang true for many generations in the past. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote these words on Dec. 25 in 1864. He penned the words during the American Civil War. This is a verse from his poem “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day” later turned into a song:

“And in despair I bowed my head

“There is no peace on earth, I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

“Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

From the American Civil War until now we have been wishing for peace of earth. Perhaps that peace has to begin with us.

Another song, “Let There Be Peace On Earth” begins with these words “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”

I wish you the peace of Christmas in your hearts. May you find joy in the season and peace from your struggles for a little while.

I leave you with the lyrics from a song by Paul Revere & the Raiders’ Christmas album. It is another controversy that hasn’t changed since 1967.

“Now you wouldn’t take the bunny out of Easter

“Or the witch out of Halloween

“And if they took away your turkey,

“It would ruin your Thanksgiving scene.

“Every year about this time, I have a question

“It’s a thought that’s hung me up for many years

“Who took the Christ out of Christmas?

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net .Her blog is paringdown.wordpress.com. Listen to KBEW AM radio 1:30 p.m. Sundays for “Something About Nothing.”