Unwrappable Gifts 2021
With Christmas just a day away, many of our readers will soon be gathering with their families to exchange gifts. At the Claritas blog, we are continuing the tradition of using our final post of the Advent series to reflect on gifts that are unwrappable—that is, the intangible sources of hope and moments of beauty that have brought us joy this Advent.
As the Claritas blog editor, my unwrappable gift has been you, our readers. I love this journal, and it means the world to me when people take the time to engage with our content. Thank you for following along as we spent this semester reflecting on how Christianity and culture intersect. From a megachurch gone awry to America’s favorite reality dating show, we covered a lot of ground during these past few months, and we have even bigger ambitions for 2022.
I hope our work has been an unwrappable gift to you, providing you with new insights or at least capturing your interest during a boring TCAT ride. And I hope that you will take a moment today to reflect on the greatest unwrappable gift of all—a coming savior who radically changes the meaning of our lives.
In Christ,
Jack Kubinec
2021-2022 Blog Editor
BY CLARITAS STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS 2021
Grace Choi
My unwrappable gift is our family's 20-year old artificial Christmas tree. Every year since 2000, my mom has been collecting a few ornaments a year: a family photo ornament, ornaments of movies we've enjoyed, ornaments from places we visited, and ornaments that represent milestones from the previous year. Some of the ornaments bring to mind joyful memories, and others remind us of more sorrowful times. Over 20 years later, our family's Christmas tree is a symbol of the Lord's great faithfulness and goodness in all seasons of our lives. The tree serves as a reminder that God is with us—always.
Chloe Cropper
One year, my entire extended family gathered in my aunt's sprawling house in the Virginia countryside on Christmas Eve. My cousins and I crammed onto her sectional, playing Minecraft together on our iPod touches. One of my uncles thought that it would be a good idea for the two youngest members of the family to stand and recite the story of Jesus' birth. My little brother Carter, four years old and evidently overwhelmed by being the center of attention, promptly pulled down his pants and mooned the whole room. Rumor has it that my grandmother's shriek still echoes through that room every Christmas Eve. It's safe to say that we never did another Christmas Story recital, but I think back on that memory of closeness and laughter fondly, as it was one of the rare times that my whole family was together in one place.
Zachary Lee
The day was December 10th, the year of our Lord 2021. The scene: impromptu homemade soup, persimmons, seltzer, and tangerines accompanied a late night convo amongst dear friends in Collegetown. From sharing our respective Spotify unwrapped(s) to reflecting on this strange and wonderful Fall semester, the quotable sound bytes flowed just as freely as the Sodastream water. There was something just so cozy about that time; classes were about to end and while finals loomed, there was a levity and ease in the ambience. I’m naturally a very wistful person but that night made me grateful for the sort of friendships where you already know you’ll fondly remember the moments you’re sharing together. It was a gift to experience community in a way that was able to be free of the worries that are usually attached to it given the pandemic. This season, set aside the ice breakers (or choose some non-conventional ones), grab a Key Lime LaCroix seltzer and hug dear friends tight.
Emily Mason
Growing up, my family and I would act out the Christmas story on Christmas Eve. To be honest, it started with my siblings and I complaining about having to take time away from our favorite books and movies. Instead of backing down to their four strong-willed children, though, my parents kept the tradition. It has evolved into puppet shows, monologues from the animals in the stable, and loud, but lively, plays with an unlikely cast. I look back on the night before Christmas with perfect happiness, because it gave my siblings and I a reverence for the true meaning of Christmas. I look forward to Christmas and to how the story of Jesus coming down to Earth will be told this year.
Alexander Burnett
This time of year, I remember that the cassette player represents a lost art of gift giving: the mixtape. More than just a collection of songs, the mixtape allows us to express our connection to friends and family, and significant others in ways that a gift card just can’t. Its contents might be the hottest songs of years past, which served as the soundtrack to your time spent together. Perhaps the lyrics of Bob Dylan or Sade put into words the thank-yous, the regrets, the hopes that you’ve always wanted to verbalize. That’s why the ‘88 Walkman and collection tapes under my bed, curated by my parents on the day before I left for Cornell, is the greatest gift I could ask for this Advent season: these tapes are a link to our past, a memento for times to come, and most importantly, a reminder that we can carry our bonds with friends and family wherever we go—as long as we bring extra batteries of course!
Estelle Hooper
This advent, I've been watching a lot of Christmas specials from my favorite childhood shows: Phineas and Ferb, iCarly, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and others. Watching predictable storylines of people finding the "true meaning of Christmas" and a grouchy character being kind for just an episode makes me look forward to seeing my family again during the holidays.
Tolulope Olukanmi
A piece of writing that has reminded me of God's unwavering love in this season of my life is the quote by Charles Spurgeon: "I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages". My time here at Cornell as a Grad Student has been one of a raging storm. However, those waves that rocked my boat and threw me up against my fears and struggles, even as silent as they were, helped me find Him again. Even in the midst of the chaos, I knew He was still reaching out to me in the deep, standing next to me in the fire and leading me to where my trust could be, without borders. He brought me up and out of the valley and proved to me once again, that He is a friend and a father. All my days, I will tell the world of His goodness. It is such an unwrappable gift to me that we will never need a trophy to make Him proud. We have done (and will do) nothing to deserve His kind of reckless love. He continues to chase us down and wrestle us back from the arms of the thief, murderer, and destroyer. Oh, His promises are Yes and Amen. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of salvation and thank you for restoring my PEACE. I will forever be still and know that you are God. I love you Jesus, and I will continually kiss those waves because they always bring me home to you.
Zachary Lee (Bonus)
Fewer conversations have been more incendiary than asking my friends who their favorite live-action Spider-Man actor is. An Andrew Garfield apologist myself, I’ve vehemently defended his moody and angsty Peter Parker against Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland’s more “comic accurate” portrayals. These are low-stakes debates but I remain grateful for this impassioned discourse because it is all a part of one of my favorite pastimes: watching and discussing films with people (specifically in a theater). Some of my favorite moments have been in the theater (and the subsequent discussion after) as friends (or sometimes just myself) sat, soberingly masked up but being able to enjoy the moments on-screen together. From seeing The Green Knight, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, and Dune at Regal to analyzing Annette and The Eyes of Tammy Faye at the Cinemapolis, I’ve remained grateful for the theatrical experience this year. This season, put on a Christmas classic, watch something new, or should conditions be safe, go watch Spider-Man: No Way Home no short of three times (and you’ll see why Andrew Garfield is the best web-slinger).