Merry CHRISTmas.
Ahh, the holidays. I realize this post comes late on Christmas night, but that's ok. I don't mind. I considered not posting anything for today, but I have nothing else to do at the moment so why not.
Usually I don't like this time of year. It's cold, it snows, and it's cold. Plus, there's a big heap of holidays that everyone gets all flustered over. Thanksgiving becomes this big rush for turkey, and everyone forgets that it's thanks-giving day. Then, if that weren't bad enough, Thanksgiving has become Christmas Part 1. The radio stations switch their playlists to 100% Christmas music a month in advance of Christmas. Who really wants to hear Christmas music 24 hours a day for a month? Especially when it means the stations have to fill their playlists with all sorts of ridiculous covers.
Also, Christmas as a holiday has become far too commercialized for my tastes. Many people have forgotten the true reason for and meaning of Christmas, and now see it as just a holiday that means going to stores and buying people gifts, then spending a morning ripping the paper off of their own presents. That's not what Christmas is about. It's about the birth of Christ. Hence the name of the whole holiday.
Anyway, as far as the commercial aspect of Christmas, I did fairly well this year. I didn't ask for much, really. I had a pretty simple list of music and movies, with some assorted other requests thrown in for the sake of variety. Even so, my family found some creative gifts. At the risk of making a list of some of it, I got:
- a really nice furry blanket with a picture of two white tigers on it (pictures to follow when I get access to the camera)
- a heated mattress pad, to keep my bed warm (I like warm beds…)
- some great movies - Jack Ryan 3-pack, The Rock, and The Bourne Collection
- two awesome CDs - Coldplay's “Parachutes” and Anberlin's “Never Take Friendship Personal”
- a new belt-watch
- gift certificates & money
All in all, it was a pretty good year. A few things need to be returned/exchanged, but that's to be expected. Besides, by returning a few of the duplicate gifts, I get to get my absolute favorite album, which somehow I've managed to not get yet. Plus, I managed to do pretty well on the giving, my family is generally happy with their gifts, with some minor returns/exchanges.
Anyway, now that I've done the obligatory Christmas post, I'm gonna go clean up this mess and put in one of my new movies.
Phil Jefferson said,
December 27, 2005, 2:41 am
“Many people have forgotten the true reason for and meaning of Christmas”
Yes, yes they have, but it isn't about Christ. Stripped right back the true reason for Christmas is this: people were afraid that the sun wouldn't come up again.
It's a pagan tradition, and is at least twice as old as Christianity. The holly, the exchanging of gifts, the mistletoe and the tree are all pagan traditions and rituals, but nobody's out there demanding that people remember the Yule in Yuletine,
It might seem like I'm being particularly petty about this, but I'm English, we have a state religion here, so I've sat through hundreds of lectures on how the “true” meaning of Christmas was being forgotten, and not one of the people ranting about it had in mind heading up to the nearest stone circle for a spot of sun worship. I'm fed up of it, Christmas isn't a christian tradition, the early chruch found that they couldn't suppress the old pagan festivals so they put their own spin on them, they made Christmas about the birth of Jesus (which likely actually happened in the spring), Easter about the resurrection, and halloween was linked with All Saints Day.
Christmas isn't Christian. If you're going to be Christian you should celebrate the birth (and death) of Christ every day of your lives, and not just (or even especially) on a set day every year. Christ didn't want religion to be ritualised and formulaic, he said so before inventing the Lord's Prayer (which has of course become one of the most formulaic and ritualistic parts of churchgoing…)
Don't get me wrong, if people want to celebrate the birth of Jesus at christmas time they should be free to do so and I wish them well, it's the arrogance of demanding that everyone else do likewise that irks me. Christmas means different things to different people, for me it's the family centred holiday invented by Washington Irving in the 19th Century, to other people it's primarily about hope, or charity, or Christ, or Odin, or yes, presents. When people talk about the “true” meaning of Christmas they really mean the meaning that they personally ascribe to Christmas. “I think people today have forgotten about the meaning that I personally ascribe to Christmas” doesn't sound as impressive though, does it.
Finally, if you think the season is to commercial then STOP BUYING STUFF.
Ahem. Bit of a rant there, sorry about that, I know you barely even touched on the subject, I guess twenty odd years of holding my toungue have taken their toll…
Tigerblade said,
December 27, 2005, 3:39 am
You bring up some interesting points. However, I must disagree; here's why. Christmas is indeed about Christ. Hence the name. I'll agree with you that the specific day chosen to celebrate his birth is originally from a pagan holiday, but Christmas itself is in honor of the birth of Christ (which was most likely actually in September). This page has some decent information on the background behind the season. The 25th of December was originally for the “feast of the Son of Isis” in Babylon. And as you said, people lit candles to encourage the sun god Mithras to appear again next year. Then a pope declared that Christ's birth would be celebrated on the 25th, most likely to make it easier on potential converts from paganism.
So as you say, Christmas does have roots in paganism, but the true spirit of and reason for Christmas is not paganism or sun gods or anything of the like. The true reason for Christmas is Christ. It's not Mithrasmas, or Isismas, or Saturnalia (as the Romans called it). It's Christmas. Some of the traditions like the Yule log and carolers do come from pagan rituals, but those have nothing to do with Christmas itself; those are merely artifacts of the holiday. The spirit of Christmas doesn't require logs or fires or songs.
And yes, the season is too commercialized, but then what holiday isn't? I deliberately avoid stores as long as humanly possible, then dart in a few, make a few quick gift purchases, then leave again for as long as humanly possible.
No worries about the rant. That's why I have comments enabled.
Phil Jefferson said,
December 27, 2005, 6:01 am
“The true reason for Christmas is Christ”
Not really. We were both agreed that the celebration of Christmas was a reaction to the pagan festivals of the time, in essence they just pasted an extra layer on top of the whole thing.
So if there had been no paganism then there would be no Christmas as there would have been no need for an alternative celebration, and prior to that time the birth of Christ was not celebrated on any particular day.
By contrast had there been no Christianity then we would still be holding feasts on the 25th, we would still exchange gifts, we would still decorate trees, we would still decorate our homes with holly and mistletoe, carolers would still call. Christ just caused the rebranding of the holiday, not the holiday itself.
“Christmas is indeed about Christ. Hence the name.”
I'm agnostic. I still celebrate Christmas, for me it's a time for family, a time for thinking of others, and a time for reflecting on all the things I have to be greatful for. By your definition I can't celebrate Christmas because I don't celebrate the birth of Jesus.
I rather like Christmas, it's a nice time of year, the whole family gets together, I get to go back home and see friends I haven't seen in ages, it's the only time you get those little sausages wrapped in bacon, and it's nice to have a tree up.
If the name of the holiday's all that keeps me from a celebration I love then I'm going to write to my MP, I'm going to call the local press, I'm going to talk to everyone I meet, and I'm going to do my damndest to make sure that from this day forth instead of “Merry Christmas” people say “Happy Holidays”.
Philip Jefferson said,
December 27, 2005, 6:06 am
I felt it would have rather spoiled the ending to my last comment if I'd addded this, but…
If you've still got some of those gift vouchers and you're still looking to expand your music collection then I'd recommend Faded Seaside Glamour by The Delays if you can buy it over there. Ah-ha! Yes, you can.
Tigerblade said,
December 30, 2005, 10:48 am
I finally got around to getting a picture of this awesome blanket. view the awesomeness.