Man christmas is getting down. I don't want to be the only person who can take a wonderful time like christmas and turn it into a problem, but! Man I dont know what to get people, who really have everything. My parents where hard pressed to come up with any ideas. A few of us did that Amazon.com wish list thing but everyone else acts like it would be wrong to make a list. "I have so much already." Ok can I just give some cash to someone, and not have your feelings hurt when you don't have anything to open. Well we both know it's no, so just give me a fucking list.
Don't think this is one of those preachy give your money to charity episodes. I have worked at second harvest food bank and helped out. I guess I was trying to be a better person or something stupid. After I lost my kidneys the world started seeming constructed of random cruelty mixed with some structured kindness. I'm trying not to think that way, im sort of a bastard in person because of it. It's best to ignore me.
Any way It's like I'm running into the realities of christmas. Someone fucked it up along the road. Halmark, Coke, Disney! Maybe it was growing up, maybe its life. The time it takes to make christmas work leaves no time for enjoying christmas. No getting up the lights. No watching the christmas tree at night. I can remember just looking at the way all the strands of lights blinked in chaos and the patterns they made through the pine needles on the ceiling. I can remember going to see all the lights in around town. Now its rushing around and pressuring people for gift ideas.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?
1 comment:
Remember, simplicity is the key to mastery. Christmas is a very simple idea. "Christ" "Mas." Or, Christ's Mass. Or, Christ's Festival. It's a celebration of the the birth of a very keen thinker. A man who was driven to death for suggesting that we be nice to each other for a change. Socrates was the first I know of to die for this cause, but as long as someone popularized the idea of kindness, it doesn't really matter who it was. So, if Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' b-day, then why do we exchagne gifts. Some think that it is a kind of re-enactment of the wise-men giving gifts to Jesus, but keep in mind Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a Roman holiday celebrated at the beginning of winter, that being late December. The people celebrated this holiday by giving each other gifts and decorating trees. What happened was after the fall of the Roman empire, the Christians needed a way to supercede Saturnalia, so Christmas was born. So, Christmas was a way to help phase out Roman culture.
Of course, our modern world has turned Christmas into a way to meet quarterly profits. This isn't neccessarily evil or devious, just short sighted like many American ideas and behaviors. You can't sell, buy, or even give Christmas away. Christmas just is and will always be as long as you ackwoledge it. The great thing is that as a adult, we can attach anything we want to Christmas. Nobody can tell us what it means. We simply give the energy and meaning we want. If Christmas is about lights, and trees, and warm moments by the fire, then create that mood. It doesn't take very long, really. We do our entire house up. We don't go overboard, but we certainly like to dress it up a bit. Just realize, you have to create the magic. It will not just appear. But, that's what makes it worth more, the fact that it takes an effort to create.
As far as gifts go, I believe that is the part of Christmas for kids. It gives them something to do, and run around, and get excited. As adults, we should know that the best gifts we can give someone is most of the time a very simple phone call, or letter, or perhaps sharing time just hanging around or something. We should move beyond material, but alas material things rule our culture, don't they.
So, what is Christmas all about. Well, you are going to get as many different answers as there are people who answer that question. So, what I have done is unlearned what the American culture taught me about Christmas, and everything else for that matter, and re-assembled what I want Christmas to mean. I take what I like about the already established thought about Christmas, and then add my own ideas. Unlearn what you have been taught, and make you're own assessments about the world. I found this to be very helpful.
So, hope this helps. Think Different :)
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