This week has been hard, stressful, overwhelming, tiring. I was actually caught on camera today sleeping on campus. It was a bad morning. I woke up late after only a few hours of sleep and took two exams. I was running so late I didn’t have time to defrost my car windows. I drove to school with my head out the window—I know, I know.

But after my exams, as I walked along campus, I heard the campus bells chime, which is not an unfamiliar sound as the clock strikes each hour. But today it was different, as a very familiar Christmas tune rang throughout the campus. I paused and smiled, and I saw others do the same. I saw people beaming with delight, as I’m sure some of them have had tough weeks too. This was a special moment for me.

There is just something special about Christmas. I know during the last couple of weeks, the world has seemed darker than normal. The news has been hard to watch. The world groans. But there is this familiar warmth and hope that comes this time of year that I think speaks to just about everyone. I have personally always wondered why it is that non-Christians celebrate Christmas, as the holiday is the celebration of the birth of Christ, but upon further reflection, I don’t think it’s strange at all.

The lyric, “the weary world rejoices,” has been captivating my thoughts lately. Though the world is dark, the lights of the Christmas tree illuminate my living room. Although the news is hard to hear, choirs still are singing songs of peace and joy and hope and love. I think at a core level, we all feel this expectant hope felt by people for centuries past. We are longing for the world to become good and kind and right, and the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of this promised hope of a savior, the one to usher in peace and reconciliation. The weary world rejoices. The world in its darkness has glimpsed the light. Consider this hope this Christmas season.

Franklin Norton can be contacted at [email protected].