To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Merry Christmas Happy Holidays Season's Greetings... eh- Never Mind
By now, everyone has heard about the "War on Christmas." Bill O'Reilly is going berserk over it. John Gibson's written a book on it. New bloggers are posting rants on it. New blogger's blog-father/son posts on it. So... here I go...
I already talked about Christmas trees. In a nutshell, it's not a Holiday Tree- no other holiday uses an evergreen tree as a symbol. There. Done with that.
I could go over the history of Christmas and how it didn't start as a Christian Holy Day but was a pagan festival that was co-opted by the Christians (either to blend in with the society or to blend society into the religion... or both). And that Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th. If you really want to know about all of that... Google is your friend.
And I could talk about the catch phrase "the Reason for the Season" (here's a hint- it ain't new- I remember people using that when I was a little girl). Yes, we need to put the focus back on the Savior's birth, but we already know that. Getting snippy about it to secularists isn't going to do anyone any good.
I could whine about the horrid commercialization of the holiday. But everyone knows all about it, and most of them still bite their tongues and hand over the plastic. Any suggestion to cut back or cut out gifts altogether is met with a hearty "Bah! Humbug!"
I could tell you who St. Nicholas was and what important lessons he can teach us, but that's a post for Tuesday.
I could talk about the PC insanity that has taken hold in our nation (but I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief that "Sparkle Season" is dead and buried). We are told to be tolerant, but, to paraphrase Cal Thomas (with apologies to my dad), 95% of the population celebrate Christmas in some way, so let the liberals have their holiday on April 1st, and leave ours alone.
So... what am I going to talk about? I'm glad you asked. Christmas is my favorite holiday (and not just because of the cookies and egg nog). In all of the craziness that has become December, we sometimes forget the little things. Last year, I did a bunch of posts on some of my Christmas memories. I still remember going to church early on Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass to hear the choir sing Christmas carols by candlelight, then hearing the story of Jesus' birth and being amazed, even as a little girl, that the little baby they were talking about grew up to become the man that hung on the cross and rose from the dead. I remember watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on TV, and being Santa's helper. I remember the chaos at my grandparents' house when it came time to open gifts (take turns? I don't think so!) Sleeping on the couch with the tree lights on, just because I could (ok, that was only once we got an artificial tree).
Did you notice what I didn't say? It's not about the gifts I received (although I've gotten some awesome stuff over the years). Like I said last year, to me, it's about family and friends. Giving without concern of what you might get in return. Love. And a Baby that was born to save us from ourselves.
To the 5% who do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you the happiest of Holidays, whichever you celebrate (Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year... take your pick). To the 20% of you who celebrate Christmas as a secular celebration of family, we need to talk. For the 75% who say there are Christian, celebrate the fullness of this special day. Celebrate family. Shower those who have not with what you have been blessed. Rest and enjoy. Watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or "The Little Drummer Boy". Have some egg nog.
Celebrate Love that came down from Heaven... just for you.
I already talked about Christmas trees. In a nutshell, it's not a Holiday Tree- no other holiday uses an evergreen tree as a symbol. There. Done with that.
I could go over the history of Christmas and how it didn't start as a Christian Holy Day but was a pagan festival that was co-opted by the Christians (either to blend in with the society or to blend society into the religion... or both). And that Jesus wasn't even born on December 25th. If you really want to know about all of that... Google is your friend.
And I could talk about the catch phrase "the Reason for the Season" (here's a hint- it ain't new- I remember people using that when I was a little girl). Yes, we need to put the focus back on the Savior's birth, but we already know that. Getting snippy about it to secularists isn't going to do anyone any good.
I could whine about the horrid commercialization of the holiday. But everyone knows all about it, and most of them still bite their tongues and hand over the plastic. Any suggestion to cut back or cut out gifts altogether is met with a hearty "Bah! Humbug!"
I could tell you who St. Nicholas was and what important lessons he can teach us, but that's a post for Tuesday.
I could talk about the PC insanity that has taken hold in our nation (but I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief that "Sparkle Season" is dead and buried). We are told to be tolerant, but, to paraphrase Cal Thomas (with apologies to my dad), 95% of the population celebrate Christmas in some way, so let the liberals have their holiday on April 1st, and leave ours alone.
So... what am I going to talk about? I'm glad you asked. Christmas is my favorite holiday (and not just because of the cookies and egg nog). In all of the craziness that has become December, we sometimes forget the little things. Last year, I did a bunch of posts on some of my Christmas memories. I still remember going to church early on Christmas Eve for Midnight Mass to hear the choir sing Christmas carols by candlelight, then hearing the story of Jesus' birth and being amazed, even as a little girl, that the little baby they were talking about grew up to become the man that hung on the cross and rose from the dead. I remember watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on TV, and being Santa's helper. I remember the chaos at my grandparents' house when it came time to open gifts (take turns? I don't think so!) Sleeping on the couch with the tree lights on, just because I could (ok, that was only once we got an artificial tree).
Did you notice what I didn't say? It's not about the gifts I received (although I've gotten some awesome stuff over the years). Like I said last year, to me, it's about family and friends. Giving without concern of what you might get in return. Love. And a Baby that was born to save us from ourselves.
To the 5% who do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you the happiest of Holidays, whichever you celebrate (Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year... take your pick). To the 20% of you who celebrate Christmas as a secular celebration of family, we need to talk. For the 75% who say there are Christian, celebrate the fullness of this special day. Celebrate family. Shower those who have not with what you have been blessed. Rest and enjoy. Watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or "The Little Drummer Boy". Have some egg nog.
Celebrate Love that came down from Heaven... just for you.
