By Maria Buchanan

It’s the first twinkle of light in a dark night. Your imagination begins to run wild with possibilities. An all-encompassing sense of wonder and joy starts to spread. I’m sure you’ve felt it. Do you remember?

In my small hometown of Roxboro, North Carolina, there's a star. It is warm, bright, and affixed to a radio tower during the holidays. When I was very little, these five illuminated points used to signal the beginning of the happiest season. I would start to see the glow emerge from the darkness through the backseat window of my family's station wagon and be filled with delight knowing that soon, I would be experiencing Christmas Magic.

I wasn’t raised in a religious family — a heathen like me doesn’t celebrate Christmas because of Jesus. This season wasn’t about going to church and feeling the love of God, his son, or anything remotely close to that. Instead, my family celebrates Christmas in a pretty nontraditional way, centering concepts like peace and joy rather than any of the holiday’s commercial or religious elements. When I was a pre-teen, my family decided we would gather around a big meal during the winter solstice and discuss the changes we wanted to embrace for the new season.

Now I’m grown, and I’m not sure if I like Christmas. I certainly don’t like most Christmas music, but I adore love songs. “Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!” by Sufjan Stevens is a fantastically upbeat love song that just so happens to be set during Christmas. Chugging, distorted guitar chords, along with sweet and tender lyrics, create an uplifting piece. It’s hard to hear it without tapping your toes and thinking about all the feelings that one associates with being in love, and sure, all the good feelings that Christmas can bring as well. When I listen to this song, I am not only reminded of how I felt about Christmas as a young child, but also of how exciting it can be to fall in love with someone. Recently, I realized that for me, they're the exact same feeling.

Love isn’t the stranger to me that Christmas is. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced it. I understand the yearning Stevens feels when he sings, “I think about how we could run away” and “I might kiss you on the back of your neck.” I can relate to wishing all your hours could be shared with someone you find so special. Loving someone is a lot like giving a homemade present: you put your heart and soul into it and hope they keep it forever.

I’m not stating anything new when I say that 2025 has been a dark year. I believe that’s mostly a shared experience. I have been looking towards the horizon in hopes of feeling something bigger and brighter — something that fills my body with the excitement I felt as a child.

I hope that you see the glow of the star through the darkness at least once in your life, and I hope even more that it excites you enough to jump up and down and exclaim, “Hey Guys! It’s Christmas Time!”

I know I’m looking out for it this year.

Maria Buchanan is a jewelry designer and artist living in North Carolina. You can discover her artistic endeavors on her brand’s website heartheadeddesigns.com or on instagram @heart.headed.designs.