Monday, December 22, 2003
How to avoid a merry Christmas
I've been watching a number of Christmas programmes on television the last few days (moving into holiday blob-out mode!) And one thing was a particularly striking common denominator in them all. They all claim that Christmas is about love and "peace and goodwill to all". Full stop - period. Not one of them mentioned that it was the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, whom angels claimed to be the author of that "peace and goodwill". In fact, an acquaintence of mine - while looking at a nativity scene in a downtown department store window - overhead a passerby say disgustedly, "trust the Christians to try and muscle in on Christmas!"
It's rather reminiscent of the child who tears open the parcels on Christmas morning to get at the goodies, but no force on earth can make sit down in the afternoon and write a thankyou letter to the aunts and uncles who sent them.
Another common factor of Christmas is that for many it brings a sense of isolation, desperation or increased domestic distress. It is one of the ironies of our times that traditional celebrations produce the inverse. When joy is expected we get depression, when celebration abounds we get the sucking void.
Peter Sellick has written a very good article on why we can't get no satisfaction out of a Christmas that ignores the founder of the event.
I've been watching a number of Christmas programmes on television the last few days (moving into holiday blob-out mode!) And one thing was a particularly striking common denominator in them all. They all claim that Christmas is about love and "peace and goodwill to all". Full stop - period. Not one of them mentioned that it was the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, whom angels claimed to be the author of that "peace and goodwill". In fact, an acquaintence of mine - while looking at a nativity scene in a downtown department store window - overhead a passerby say disgustedly, "trust the Christians to try and muscle in on Christmas!"
It's rather reminiscent of the child who tears open the parcels on Christmas morning to get at the goodies, but no force on earth can make sit down in the afternoon and write a thankyou letter to the aunts and uncles who sent them.
Another common factor of Christmas is that for many it brings a sense of isolation, desperation or increased domestic distress. It is one of the ironies of our times that traditional celebrations produce the inverse. When joy is expected we get depression, when celebration abounds we get the sucking void.
Peter Sellick has written a very good article on why we can't get no satisfaction out of a Christmas that ignores the founder of the event.
