Sorry, I will get to the Carnegie/CSR posts soon. First, I need to cleanse myself with a little rant.
Bah! Humbug!
Christmas music? Christmas decorations? Children's toy commercials during boring documentaries? Come on, you filthy marketing whores! It isn't even Thanksgiving!
I am not really big on faith. If I had a gun to my head and had to choose a religion, I would choose Christianity. I like the principles, the ethics, the philosophy, the stories, and the traditions. I just don't see a lot of evidence for answered prayer, healings, and other miracles. I have seen too much as an insider of the horrible things that go on in some churches. Even so, I am not anti-Christian and wish I could have more faith.
Therefore, my disgust of American Christmas is not due to a black stain on my soul. In fact, quite the opposite. I believe that as I continue to cleanse my soul without relying on human institutions and rules, I have a healthier and more objective soul. I try to avoid righteous indignation, but it is hard where Christmas is concerned; I believe that if Jesus were here today we would lose his temper on all things "Christmas" like he did on the money-changers in the temple.
Some people think my Christmas-disgust is rooted in my childhood. No, I have fantastic memories of Christmas from my childhood. The odors of pine and nutmeg immediately bring up warm feelings of childish anticipation. My parents made a tremendous effort to make Christmas a great experience. We have photos to match my memories; Christmas was a time to lighten up and enjoy the moment in my house. I would love to relive any Christmas from my childhood.
The problem for me lies in honesty. First of all, why are we telling kids all the myths about Santa Claus? If I walked up to a young Santa believer and told them that Santa wasn't real and that his parents had been eating the cookies all these years, I would be banished from society. I would be scorned like a child molester. Even my own children: it has not been an issue yet but I am sure that if I ever tell my kids that Santa is not real, I will have two Grandmas on my case with a long line of "don't-ruin-it-for-others" enforcers behind them.
We also like to say that Christmas is Jesus' birthday. That is highly unlikely. Let's assume that the bible is accurate, word-for-word. Can someone quote the Book, Chapter, and Verse that points to December 25th as the day Jesus was born? December 25th was chosen by the Roman Empire based on its proximity to the winter solstice and the festivities that converted-pagans had always held at that time. The powers-that-be realized that it would be easier to convert people by assimilating some of their favorite religious practices into the state religion.
We lie about "The spirit of the season." We imply that Christmas is about giving and sharing, about generosity and good-will towards man. On the contrary, Christmas in America in the 21st century is about shopping and meeting expectations. You give in order to receive, or to avoid being on the list of people who didn't give. You chuckle at the Santa and return his "Merry Christmas!", then cuss out the guy who took your shopping-mall parking-place.
At the end of August this year, I was in a Target store looking for something for my yard. I went to the seasonal section where they had been keeping the lawn and garden stuff. I knew it was late in the season, and was hoping to find some stuff marked down. No, it was gone. The seasonal section was now orange and black, full of Halloween costumes and decorations.
I was thinking to myself that August seemed a bit early for Halloween sales. I ventured deeper into the seasonal section, hoping my bargains were hiding back in the corner. Instead, I found the last aisle to be red-and-green themed. Christmas decorations. In August. Good Grief.
I think it was the first week of November when I stumbled on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on TV. I like that show. My son loves it; he made me read the book 500 times last year. It is a great story, and Boris Karloff delivered one of the best performances of anyone, anywhere, ever. Even so, we haven't had Thanksgiving Turkey yet. There is a lot more football to be played. Can we hold off on the Christmas Specials until the Catholics start lighting candles, please?
I like the principle in "The Grinch" of someone who, like me, hates Christmas but finds the spirit overwhelming. I wish that one day I could find myself losing my cynicism, join hands with all the who's in whoville, and carve the roast-beast with a sincere smile. I cannot do that, however, until we start being honest.
Why do we need to decorate a tree? Sure, it looks nice. But why? Why do we need to risk our life on a ladder, staple our gloves to the awning, increase our carbon-footprint and electric bill, and light up the night? Why do we need to send a Christmas Card to a boss we don't like, or an Uncle who still calls you by an insulting nickname? Why do we have to buy knickknacks and useless crap that we can't afford and the receiver doesn't want or need? Why do we, as a nation, pin our economic health to one Friday in November? Why do you go shopping on that Friday; do you like crowded stores, rude salespeople, and dangerous parking lots?
When I was a child, Christmas was special. It was short; my little mind found it too short, but that adds to its special feeling. Christmas did not come around till December, and it built up gradually. I wasn't expected to give as a child, but if I did it was a very meaningful experience. I didn't expect to get quantity, I just wanted one or two things and this was the time of year where I could dream bigger than usual. The rest of the year was about school, chores, and needs. This was a time for dreams, for pleasure, for family gatherings. Food during the year was about balance and nutrition; Christmas food was about presentation, flavor, and enjoyment. I didn't have to eat the vegetable, and there was always more cookies.
I want my children to enjoy Christmas, but society has changed. The foods are available all year round now. The emphasis in on marketing hype, not on tradition and spirit. You are not allowed to say Jesus in public places, and most people say, "Happy Holidays" to avoid another frivolous ACLU lawsuit. Santa is in every mall, all the time, from October through January. The commercials are brutal; my son already has a want list a mile long, and he only watches an hour or so of TV a day at the most. The average child in America watches at least4 hours of TV per day; what effect does that marketing have on them?
We are now raising a generation where Christmas is not special; it is an event in slick marketing, over-hype, a season that drags on for months, and is all about what you did or did not give/receive. There is no room for, "It's the thought that counts". There is no thought given to financial limits because that is what your credit cards are for; Congress does it, the President does it, so why shouldn't you spend more than you earn? It's your duty as an American, even more so as a Christian. If I boycott Christmas this year, will that be a win for the terrorists?
I predict that on November 24th through 26th, the news will crammed full of stories about how Macy's, Wal-Mart, and Toy-R-Us are concerned because of lower than expected sales on Friday the 23rd. The implication is that if you don't get out there and waste your money on low-quality crap from China, your nation's economy will suffer.
"What's my solution," you ask with a scoff? Keep it small. Think. Christmas becomes a lot of work if you allow it; sit back and enjoy it more. Just hang a wreath on your front door--maybe a tree and a few kid-created decorations in the living room. Get together with family, but set limits on gift-giving. In a perfect world, we would setup college-funds (and fund their health-insurance if necessary) for all the kids and put more money into them in December than we did into FisherPrice and BestBuy.
Go to work for a few hours in a soup kitchen, or visit a state-run nursing home, with the kids in-tow. Give them more opportunities to analyze the holiday, to feel good about giving, and to see that there are differences between needs and wants. After the volunteering, buy them one big present (with cash, not credit) and put the biggest smile you can on their face.
Why is it that we are supposed to have faith in Santa and not in Jesus? Seriously, every movie for Christmas is about some guy (usually white and wealthy) who's life is made right the second he starts believing in Santa. However, when Christians claim the same thing happened to them when they first believed in Jesus, they are met with scorn, ridicule, condescension, and the threat of lawsuit or censure.
I don't really believe in either Santa or Jesus, but if I had a choice which side would I be on? Santa is all about being fat, unshaven, dressed like a clown, riding in an impossible sleigh, whipping exploited reindeer who have no talent for flying, and defying all laws of space, time, and physics to deliver presents to everyone on his "good list".
Allow me to take this side-track for a second: When is Santa going to post the rules for being on the "Good" list. My friend was allowed to stay up till midnight, but I had to be in bed by 9:00 PM or Santa was going to hear about it. Were we both on the same list despite our difference in bedtime standards? And even worse, if Santa has to track the moral performance of billions of kids, how do we know he is not making any errors? Does he publish the bad list somewhere to list your infractions? Is there an appeal process? Jesus gave us the bible to follow, and he claims to be omniscient and omnipotent, but Santa is only human. Who is keeping him honest? And, for my liberal readers, has anyone looked into the Elf-labor conditions? Do they have a pension, insurance, and profit sharing? Do they even have a choice of employment? Who is their representative?
My hang-up with Jesus is his inactivity. I simply do not see any evidence that he or any other spiritual force is at work in our world. However, assuming that Jesus is more of a classical Arminianist than most people think, isn't his character more desirable in our society? He sacrificed himself for people who neither asked for it, nor did many of them want him to. He helped the underdogs of his society. He defied authority when that authority was clearly wrong. He touched people who were often shunned. He fed hungry people, helped blind people to see (metaphorically and literally), and demonstrated a humble, peaceful approach to life. The worst that people can say about Jesus is that he might have been married with at least one child. Hardly likely based on the evidence presented, and hardly scandalous either. We need more leaders like Jesus who walk their talk even if they try to keep their family out of the limelight.
Christmas past = short, special, sacred, unique, traditional, spiritual.
Christmas now = starts earlier every year, over-hyped, slick marketing, crowds, greed, competition, unrecognizable as a unique, spiritual holiday.
Santa = strange, magical, unbelievable, vague, totally unscientific and unspiritual.
Jesus = love, compassion, rebel for rightful causes, defender of the misfortunate, unscientific for spiritual reasons, a person to emulate.
It seems to me we are heading in the wrong direction. Even worse, it seems that there is no way to return to "the good, old days". I fear we have allowed Christmas to be ruined, and that we are losing a great thing.
I wonder if that same thing was said when the winter holidays were changed from pagan to Roman Catholic. Perhaps our new gods will make the holidays something to fondly remember for future generations. Even if your heart is three sizes too small, like mine and the Grinch's, there is always hope that good will triumph over evil. In the meantime, I am going to find a way to make the best of this situation. Also, I am going to resist analyzing why Santa and Satan are spelled so similarly.
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