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"For me," says Fox News Channel's senior political analyst Brit Hume, "Christmas remains the holiday."
His charming remembrances and anecdotes focused on this holiday time of year are among the many contributions featured in All American Christmas by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy.
In Hume's family, the Christmas tree wasn't decorated until Christmas Eve. As a kid, he would "go to bed, struggle very much to fall asleep, and in the morning I'd come out and find that Santa had arrived," he says.
What young child doesn't run to the Christmas tree screaming with glee on Christmas morning? Brit Hume recalls that delightful experience — and shares the "huge thrill" he felt as a kid on those special mornings (and where that would lead him as an adult). (iStock, File)
"There in the living room, this splendid tree was all trimmed and ready to go, complete with gifts beneath it," he adds. "That was such a huge thrill for me."
He also notes that his appreciation "for the joy of giving, and for surprising and delighting other people … didn't fully develop until I was older" — something so many of can identify with, to be sure.
Here, in Hume's own words, is a slice of his life as a child growing up in Washington, DC — and his grace notes about the joy that comes with both giving and receiving.
Enjoy Brit Hume's memories here, from ‘All American Christmas’
Brit Hume in All American Christmas: Some people — a lot of people — lament the commercialization of Christmas. For all that, Christmas is the one season when we spend more time than usual thinking about other people and their needs and wishes instead of our own.
One result is that we, as a people, make more charitable donations than at any other point in the year.
Bret Baier (left) and Brit Hume, both of Fox News, during a Christmas celebration. Thinking about others in an unselfish way is incredibly important at this time of year, Hume shares in his essay. (courtesy Fox News)
We think about friends we may not have been in frequent contact with. We may be in touch with a relative whom we've not heard from in a while.
Some people decide that it's a good occasion to lay aside any upsets or differences.
And even if it is just about thinking in an unselfish way about what we might be able to buy for someone that will delight him or her, then I believe that's a very healthy thing for us to do.
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Maybe giving gifts serves as a means to offset those moments when our parents insisted that we get on the phone to thank our aunt or uncle who sent a sweater or scarf that as kids we couldn't have cared less about — and we barely managed to dredge up an ounce of genuine appreciation from the bottom of our gratitude barrel.
"I know that I've been truly blessed and I wish the same to all."
Or maybe we want to replicate the generosity and timeliness of gifts we received like the ones I did from my father's brother, my uncle "Smoke," as he was nicknamed.
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I could always count on him.
Once, he sent me a toy filling station that had opening garage doors and realistic-looking gas pumps. He understood the heart of a child.
I know that I've been truly blessed and wish the same to all, and to all a good night.
I hope you wake up on Christmas Day to a fully decorated tree, presents that delight you, and genuine gratitude that makes those thank-you calls as easy as mine were to Uncle Smoke.
Excerpted from All American Christmas by Rachel Campos-Duffy and Sean Duffy. To purchase a copy, click here.
