A Christmas holiday at home for us.....
Dec. 27th, 2003 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1We spent a leisurely Christmas Day at home. We started with the opening of the gifts, which I videotaped. Afterwards, we had breakfast -- Godiva Creme Brulee coffee and Pillsbury Grands! cinnamon rolls. At noon, we listened to the Tooth Fairy Christmas Special (which I also taped, putting the VCR in simulcast mode). I spent the afternoon in the kitchen, preparing and cooking a 5-lb turkey breast. As usual, I used the tried-and-true Scarborough Fair recipe (rubbing the spices under the skin this time) and the cooking bag, and once again, the turkey was moist, flavorful, and yummy. Meanwhile, my wife and daughter watched "The Lion King". After dinner, we then watched "Finding Nemo", which my wife and daughter already saw. The only time I stepped outside was to put the bag of used wrapping paper into the trash.
Santa was very good to Maria this year. She got an activity table, a Fisher-Price Little People doll house, a Leapfrog Alphabet Pal, and two books/cartridges for her Little Touch LeapPad. Mom (my wife) got the 5th season of Buffy on DVD, the Simon & Garfunkel box set, and a gift card from Borders. Dad (that's me) got three DVDs, including "Office Space". And of course, I did plenty of videotaping.
It's easy for me to get jaded and cynical about the holiday season.
In one corner are the fundamentalist Christians, spouting their spoonfed dogma as usual. "A Savior was born on this day." Riiiiiight. Christmas is on December 25 only because some Pope in the 4th century decreed it. "Remember the reason for the season." I do. There was only enough oil in the lamp in the temple to last one day. Miraculously, it burned for eight days. In the past, I used to receive a greeting card from a friend who moved to Florida....with religious tracts stuffed into the envelope. Thanks but no thanks. [Update: It's my hope that these people would take what they know in their heads and put it in in their hearts, and live their lives in a more Christ-like manner, thus proclaiming their faith through their actions and not through their words.]
In the other corner is the big guy with the red suit, and all the materialism and excess he represents. Granted, the figure we know as Santa Claus is an amalgamation of many European folk tales and traditions. But he's been used to hawk everything from computers to Coca-Cola. (He's still riding his Norelco electric razor through the woods where his sleigh doesn't dare to go.)
Christmas has become two holidays -- the sacred and the secular -- that are celebrated on the same day. So, which one is right? Do we have a slugfest a la Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "The Spirit of Christmas" to see which is the correct holiday? Naah. Only because it will end in a draw.
Here's what I really miss about the season: the sense of community coming together, despite the differences in our spiritual and religious beliefs. Even as far back as kindergarten, I (who grew up Catholic) knew about Hanukkah. One of my fellow students in the class -- I believe her name was Edith Joseph -- brought in some plastic dreidels to give to the rest of the class. And my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Sugar, made latkes for the class. In our school district, from elementary up through high school, we had Holiday concerts, not Christmas concerts, as each concert included a few Hanukkah songs. And at college, the local Chabad House sponsored the annual erection of a large menorah in one of the plazas or squares on campus. It was somewhat ironic (for lack of a better word) to see one of the rabbis stepping into the bucket of a cherry picker and going up in it to light the oil lamps at the top of the menorah each night.
I've not felt that sense of universal spiritual community since I moved to Ohio nearly 15 years ago. Mostly because all I hear and see around here in southwest Ohio is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. And the ocasional menion of Kwanzaa. But there's very little mention of Hanukkah, of Yule, and of Dewali. As I said last year, I live in Goys' Town USA.
Many people, not realizing I'm now pagan, have wished me a Merry Christmas. Part of me wants to angrily respond, "How dare you assume I'm Christian!", but I usually respond with a heartfelt, "Thank you." Because to me now, Christmas isn't just a single day -- it's a season. The season where the light (i.e. the sun) is returning back to the world after the solstice, and the light within is returning to us. This is when most people get in touch with their giving and generous side. I'm not talking in terms of monetary or material things. They give of themselves. That's the part that touches me in many of the Christmas stories and movies, from George Bailey's "awakening", to the Grinch's heart growing in size, to Ebenezer Scrooge's revelation. And that's the part that I wish would last all year.
Peace.
Card update: Received![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
doeadear's card and letter on Tue 12/23, and dagonell's card on Fri 12/26.
Santa was very good to Maria this year. She got an activity table, a Fisher-Price Little People doll house, a Leapfrog Alphabet Pal, and two books/cartridges for her Little Touch LeapPad. Mom (my wife) got the 5th season of Buffy on DVD, the Simon & Garfunkel box set, and a gift card from Borders. Dad (that's me) got three DVDs, including "Office Space". And of course, I did plenty of videotaping.
It's easy for me to get jaded and cynical about the holiday season.
In one corner are the fundamentalist Christians, spouting their spoonfed dogma as usual. "A Savior was born on this day." Riiiiiight. Christmas is on December 25 only because some Pope in the 4th century decreed it. "Remember the reason for the season." I do. There was only enough oil in the lamp in the temple to last one day. Miraculously, it burned for eight days. In the past, I used to receive a greeting card from a friend who moved to Florida....with religious tracts stuffed into the envelope. Thanks but no thanks. [Update: It's my hope that these people would take what they know in their heads and put it in in their hearts, and live their lives in a more Christ-like manner, thus proclaiming their faith through their actions and not through their words.]
In the other corner is the big guy with the red suit, and all the materialism and excess he represents. Granted, the figure we know as Santa Claus is an amalgamation of many European folk tales and traditions. But he's been used to hawk everything from computers to Coca-Cola. (He's still riding his Norelco electric razor through the woods where his sleigh doesn't dare to go.)
Christmas has become two holidays -- the sacred and the secular -- that are celebrated on the same day. So, which one is right? Do we have a slugfest a la Trey Parker and Matt Stone's "The Spirit of Christmas" to see which is the correct holiday? Naah. Only because it will end in a draw.
Here's what I really miss about the season: the sense of community coming together, despite the differences in our spiritual and religious beliefs. Even as far back as kindergarten, I (who grew up Catholic) knew about Hanukkah. One of my fellow students in the class -- I believe her name was Edith Joseph -- brought in some plastic dreidels to give to the rest of the class. And my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Sugar, made latkes for the class. In our school district, from elementary up through high school, we had Holiday concerts, not Christmas concerts, as each concert included a few Hanukkah songs. And at college, the local Chabad House sponsored the annual erection of a large menorah in one of the plazas or squares on campus. It was somewhat ironic (for lack of a better word) to see one of the rabbis stepping into the bucket of a cherry picker and going up in it to light the oil lamps at the top of the menorah each night.
I've not felt that sense of universal spiritual community since I moved to Ohio nearly 15 years ago. Mostly because all I hear and see around here in southwest Ohio is Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. And the ocasional menion of Kwanzaa. But there's very little mention of Hanukkah, of Yule, and of Dewali. As I said last year, I live in Goys' Town USA.
Many people, not realizing I'm now pagan, have wished me a Merry Christmas. Part of me wants to angrily respond, "How dare you assume I'm Christian!", but I usually respond with a heartfelt, "Thank you." Because to me now, Christmas isn't just a single day -- it's a season. The season where the light (i.e. the sun) is returning back to the world after the solstice, and the light within is returning to us. This is when most people get in touch with their giving and generous side. I'm not talking in terms of monetary or material things. They give of themselves. That's the part that touches me in many of the Christmas stories and movies, from George Bailey's "awakening", to the Grinch's heart growing in size, to Ebenezer Scrooge's revelation. And that's the part that I wish would last all year.
Peace.
Card update: Received
doeadear's card and letter on Tue 12/23, and dagonell's card on Fri 12/26.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-28 02:14 am (UTC)So maybe that's why it never even ocurrs to me to be offended when someone wishes me a Merry Christmas. :-) I just always assume they are wishing me the joy and peace they associate with their favorite holiday. Of course this may be tinged by the fact that I'm regularly attending an Episcopal church! Ed is music director and organist at one.
I've decided that if I ever convert to Christianity it will be Episcopalian. They have fantastic music and ritual and while I can't literally believe a lot of it (which will keep me from converting I suspect) I really really respect a lot of the current theology in the church, especially here in the U.S. where they've even ordained an openly gay bishop. Good for them! I hear he is a wonderful man and a true spiritual leader. (the leaving priest at Ed's church, a woman I thought was marvelous and if anyone could convince me to convert it would have been her, knows Gene Robinson well and speaks very highly of him). Anyway - there are some truly lovely people, at least in our church, and from what I've seen, in the larger church. It kind of had revived my opinion of Christianity as a whole. Which is convenient since my in-laws have gotten faith in a big way because of getting really involved in a church. Fortunately their minister (also a woman but congregationalist) is very big on being accepting of other faiths and often speaks of God as a woman. Hee!
A little PS on the Episcopal thing - the leaving Priest's husband was UU! He said that people in the church would always tell him "If we weren't Episcopalian we'd have to be UU!" And I laughed and told him that attending St. Stephen's has made me say "If I weren't UU I'd have to be Episcopalian!"
Well - enough rambling for now. BTW what is Dewali?
no subject
Date: 2003-12-28 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-28 07:49 pm (UTC)And yes, I've encountered a few of those street-corner preachers who proclaimed that I would go to Hell if I didn't convert right there and then, on the spot. *grr*
Dewali is the Hindu "festival of light".
Years ago, I went to an Episcopal service as a visitor. I even took Communion (although I probably shouldn't have). I liked it -- there were a lot of familiar rituals, and some unfamiliar things, like a woman presider. I was on their mailing list for a year. I told my dad about my visit and he admonished me, "Don't you ever stop being Catholic!" So I never went back. (And no, he doesn't know of my current spiritual path. And since he has no plans to ever buy a computer, I'm safe expressing my new faith here.)
Yes, I'm aware of Bishop Robinson's ordination, and some of the more conservative churches are threatening to break off. Ah well -- yet another schism.
For me, a church is a community of people -- not a building, not just a congregation. Although the Catholic church I went to had occasional social events, I felt so alone at them. Even during the services, there's no opportunity for interaction. As involved as I was (choir, mens' goup retreats), I didn't really seem to form a bond with anyone there.