An ideal Christmas for many of us would be full of family, feasts, and, of course, gift-giving, as carols play, snow falls, and, I suppose, chestnuts roast on an open fire. Reality tends to be quite different, however, as busyness, indifference, and stress push their way into our holiday season and put a pall over the festivities. This is true in the West, where Christmas is a centerpiece holiday for the whole family, but it’s also true even in Japan, where it is a more minor event traditionally for couples; there, too, the flow of life (and for students, studying and exams) intrudes on the day. Sakura, a teenage girl and sister of the protagonist in Ryuhei Tamura’s manga series, Cosmos, is feeling this intrusion, and frankly, she’s not looking forward to Christmas. But everything changes for her when she discovers the power of thankfulness.
Sakura is a normal teenage girl—normal for manga, at least. She’s dutifully studying for her high school entrance exams as she secretly tries to get into the same school as her brother Kaede, though from the way she treats him, you’d have no idea that Sakura admires him. She’s the kind of girl who is often very loud around her family and friends, while keeping her trials hidden. And she’s going through one now, and doing everything she can to stay afloat. She’s attending cram school, coming home late every night, and has even given up playing the trumpet—something she loves doing—because she just no longer has time or energy for anything other than studying.
Meanwhile, cold weather is setting in, and Christmas Eve is almost upon them. Kaede picks up Sakura from cram school as often as he can, though she doesn’t seem to appreciate it; but the truth is more likely that she doesn’t like that he’s becoming distant from her. He’s apparently changed his image, wearing a weird earring, and works all the time now (she, of course, doesn’t realize that both changes are due to the training Kaede is undergoing to join an insurance agency that investigates extraterrestrial crimes).
But worst of all, a girl shows up at their family residence. Could this Rin be—she must be!—Kaede’s girlfriend? (She’s not—she’s actually his boss.) The way Rin matter-of-factly interacts with the family and shares a deep familiarity with Kaede and his habits just hammers home the intimacy of their relationship.
Manga readers may be excused for assuming this is all a classic brocon set-up, but that’s not really what’s going on here. There’s no pouting, no blushing, nothing of that sort. Instead, Sakura does a lot of silent reflecting, and she’s curious, too—what are Rin and Kaede talking about when they’re alone in his room after the family dinner? As she listens through the thin walls, she hears snatches of the conversation, which reveal that they’re whispering about…studying. Of course. The same worries that she’s having.
The thing is, Sakura doesn’t want to worry about studying. She wants to enjoy life. But this is another of the trials that she’s keeping hidden. So when a classmate encourages her to go with him to a school concert, she rudely turns him down. While it may seem that she just didn’t want to go with him, in reality, she didn’t have the time to go. And more than that, she’s feeling a tinge of sadness; you see, it’s implied that Sakura might have participated in that very concert if she hadn’t given up playing the trumpet to turn her focus toward studies.
We may not be studying for high school entrance exams, but we’ve all been where Sakura is at some point, right? You may have been stuck with some horrific project at work or have had to study until you were blue in the face for final exams. You may have given up something important to you because you lack the time or energy now that other priorities are demanding your attention. And like Sakura, you may have felt sad, bitter, or both.
There are moments where major stressors and worries like these overwhelm me, but more often, I feel as if these concerns are simmering just below the surface, affecting how I approach life. I move from task to task and don’t see moments of grace; I rush my time with people instead of enjoying it, and don’t find joy when it’s right before me, like in all the joy of the Christmas season. Sakura is experiencing the same dynamic—at least until something supernatural happens.
She and a friend have noticed that more and more students are disappearing from cram school as it gets nearer to Christmas, until one day, a sick student almost matter-of-factly stands up in class and tells the teacher that he wants to…feed. Not eat, or get a snack, but feed. With crazed eyes, he’s about to attack the other students when he’s stopped in his tracks by Rin and Kaede. Rin’s latest investigation has led her straight to Sakura and then to the cram school, which turns out to be infected by an alien virus, one that Kaede can see thanks to an ability he has gained. The duo are able to prevent the outbreak from getting worse, and erase everyone’s memories (natch), so that all is back to normal for Christmas.
Well, almost. Except that Sakura retains something. Deep in the recesses of her mind, she feels that there’s something to be grateful to Kaede for.
It could be that something related to the alien activity is still stuck in her head, but I think that the fragment of memory Sakura holds onto is really just an impetus to get her thinking. As Sakura considers what it could be that she should be thankful for, she contemplates all that her brother does for her, including walking her home from cram school despite being so busy with work and his own studies—an act that is all the more meaningful in light of the fact that Sakura was threatened or assaulted (we never get the full details) by a suspicious character on the way home one night.. And Kaede’s generosity is extended by Rin too, as someone who has shown genuine care not only toward Kaede but also for his little sister.
In the U.S., we put away the theme of gratefulness once the Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie are gone, and we move on to the Christmas season. But Sakura’s story here reminds us that the heart of Christmas, too, is found in giving thanks. It wasn’t until Sakura paused to think that she was finally able to see how much her family had been caring for her during this busy season of her life. Just so, Christmas prompts us to take the time to do the same, even inviting us to start reflecting on our Heavenly Family—our Father and His Son sent down to Earth to walk with us through our struggles, give us hope, and show us the way. Like Kaede, He will walk us home through the darkest night. And He will bring people into our lives who will care for us too, as with Kaede and Rin.
Chapter nine concludes with one small but critical scene. As Sakura, Kaede, and Rin are walking home together, they pass by the boy who wanted to go to the concert with Sakura. They exchange pleasantries and go their separate ways, but then Sakura turns around and calls back to him, exclaiming that she will pick up the trumpet again. This is no throwaway comment. Instead, the perspective she gains from being grateful allows Sakura to finally dismiss the story she’d built for herself—of a brother who doesn’t care and a girlfriend taking him away, of studying without end, and a passion sacrificed for a more important pursuit. In embracing gratefulness, Sakura is able to see the truth, which is “I am loved” and “better days are coming.” She finds hope.
I think the truths that Sakura learns are exactly the same we need to hear this Christmas season. Better days are coming; if your life is overwhelming now, as with Sakura, know that an end is in sight—yes, one day in the future when we’re without worry or pain in the presence of God, but also in the nearer term, at the end of whatever trial you’re walking through, and even in the upcoming Christmas holiday just around the corner!
And secondly, you are loved. Just as Sakura took the time to reflect and realized that her family cared about her more than she knew, it’s likewise worth it for us to take that reflective moment and remember how others have shown up for us, possibly in ways we’ve overlooked—and by doing so, we can cultivate gratitude and embrace the love we’ve been given.
There’s no better time to think about the love we’ve been given and to be thankful than during Christmas. Like Kaede’s powerful rescue when Sakura and her classmates were on the precipice of death, and his consistent care during his sister’s trying time, Jesus came to rescue us from the clutches of Hell, but also to walk with us daily, through the broken relationships and health concerns, through stressful obligations and end-of-year deadlines. He is Emmanuel—God with us, both in the storm and in the mundanity.
Volume three of Cosmos can be read on the VIZ app or purchased on Crunchyroll or Amazon.
[…] to see the blessings, we can still hope. For after all, the Christmas holiday we just celebrated is all about the hope Christ brought to the world, and the new year is a natural time to look forward to the work […]