Merry Christmas, Dr. Doom
Tomorrow is Christmas, Merry Christmas to you and yours. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Christmas has always been a joy for me; I have always loved it. At first, of course, for the presents! But then, as I grew older, for the original meaning behind it: Love and peace for all mankind—the realization and manifestation of love in the world, as inspired by the birth of Christ.
Christmas in my house as a child was the true manifestation of love, happiness, and joy. Yes, much of that was expressed in present giving and receiving, and man, there were lots of presents for sure, and my family went through some hard times, but there were always presents. But of course it went beyond that material exchange. The mystery and magic of Christmas was everywhere. My mother was known by all of us in my family as the “Queen of Christmas” and she made great effort to decorate our home with lights, trimmings, ornaments, and everything imaginable that is “Christmassy.” She loved to make Christmas mysterious and magical as well. My environment during this wonderful time of year was pure fantasy, and to this day I cherish the memories and try my best to repeat a few of them every year.
The last two Christmases (including this one) carry a bit more melancholy than usual, considering the state of the world. But there has always been sadness, lack, and suffering in the world. Of course, as kids, and even the majority of most people’s adulthoods, that awareness is pretty distant. Particularly if we are blessed to have been born in a country that is relatively stable and opulent. This of course is the time to realize that the majority of the world was not born into that privilege, and to give from the heart, and the wallet, as much as we can for those less fortunate.
Of course this year we are fundamentally less fortunate than we were years before. Our cultural base has been threatened, and continues to be threatened, by the World War of Ideas. Our ideas of freedom, human decency, and a meaningful and purposeful life have been seriously threatened. And although this threat has been present for decades, if not millennia, these past two years have shown the most egregious display of it.
But it is important to always know that love, and peace among human beings is really the foundational truth about mankind. It always has been, and always will be. There are evil forces at work, and that too has always been the case, but the love of God (and if you are not a believer in God, please be a believer in something) is always present, always at work, and will always prevail.
Share some of your Christmas memories—or other celebrations you have experienced this time of year!
Merry Christmas to all Shrews Near and Far…and to the Sheep as Well. Merry Christmas to All.
The spirit of Christmas is Christ-like love. The way to increase the Christmas spirit is to reach out generously to those around us and give of ourselves. The best gifts are not material things but gifts of listening, of showing kindness, of remembering, of visiting, of forgiving, of giving time.
— Bonnie L. Oscarson
Merry Christmas to you too Todd. My parents came to Canada from Germany so we typically celebrated on Christmas Eve. My mother was never much for making big celebrations but she did make Christmas magical. She and my dad would put a drape over the living room entrance and tell my brother and I to stay out while they “got the room ready for Santa”. We’d go over to our neighbours who were surrogate grandparents to us and have snacks and drinks. Santa may have come by while we were out and my dad would check before we were allowed in. Magically our Christmas tree appeared, candles burning (no electric lights) and German Christmas carols playing. And of course presents under the tree. It was magical. We continue the tradition of candles on the tree but celebrate on Christmas morning. My kids both swore they heard Rudolph on the roof of our house. This year it looks like my daughter won’t make it home from Montreal due to the ongoing storm, it also is the first since my mom passed. Happy/sad days, drives home the fact that you should always appreciate the people you love and rejoice in being together because you never know what may happen. Blessings to the Shrews! 🎄🥂🕯
All the best to you and yours, Todd, and all reading this... That's what I love about The Season. The Reason has fallen out of fashion, but the heart-y well-wishing will do. Maybe we'll rediscover the archetypal value of the whole myth longer-term, the birth of light and compassionate wisdom within us all, but loving thy neighbour at the darkest time of year here in the North is a start, at least. His full message is still in translation.
Christmas memories... So many now it's hard to choose, like a tray of chocolates...
My father joined AA and dried up just before I was born at my mother's insistence. And became quite successful quite quickly, and transferred his addictive tendency to shopping. We had more than enough, we had three or four or more of absolutely everything. He was trying to atone for the drunken years with nothing, which were pre-my-experience, so Christmas was overwhelming. For all of us, which is interesting to note. Even my brothers, who had the deprived earlier lives. I was in public school when we started teasing him about his neurotic compulsion (he laughed and agreed) and asked him to stop. We also all agreed we'd rather travel than have more stuff. Which we did, for years, until we all left home.
We went to a tiny Caribbean island where it seemed there were no rules as we knew them. Anyone could drive if they could reach the pedals, for one thing, which made the narrow, winding roads more fun than any theme park, there were dances in the town hall when the band, a blend of brass and steel drums hit the stage at midnight and did not stop until sunrise and everyone was there-- mothers with babies, elders and kids, all dancing all night. A rave I went to with my nephew was like that. Pure uplifting joy as a community. Celebrating life itself. So unlike my regular life it seemed like paradise. The island was a British "possession" then (independent now) and part of the profound learnings were around colonialism and racism, just to mention the shadow side... the gift of education.
Earlier than that, though, in the avalanche years, during the holidays lots of recovering alcoholics dropped in with their families. My father took me aside once and said something like: 'These are people we are helping get back on their feet. Those kids probably didn't get much for Christmas. If you want to, you could give them some of your toys...' No pressure, as I recall, just a suggestion.
To be honest, it was a huge relief. I could be guilt-free on not fully appreciating every gift, since there were not enough hours in the day to really experience each thing, and leading the other kids to my room, seeing their eyes widen with the whole display, and saying something like: 'Pick out whatever you want' and loving their delight as they explored and made choices with glee was satisfying in every way. Joy is infectious.
Later in life, on my way to my parent's house I ran into a fully-decked-out drag queen I knew who was wandering the freezing street with two glittered friends. Their families hated them, they had no plans, so we all went to dinner spontaneously together, just showing up in a pack with no warning. My blessed parents extended the table and redid the setting before coats were off, threw a party like no other, and we all laughed and told stories until late in the night.
These are the ones I'm choosing right now. Not all are sweet.
May the spirit of the season infect us all. Joyeux Noel!