A Holiday Rant
Well, it's that time of year again. Or almost, anyway. I don't really like to think of it as officially the "holiday season" until the actual day of Thanksgiving, but I've loosened up on that point over the years. As a kid, I was adamant that the Christmas season did NOT start until December 1, which could be really, really tough when I was DYING for it to be Christmastime. But now I accept that Christmastime starts the day after T-Day, and the "holiday season" could be said to start with Halloween, but I still do NOT accept stores decorated with wreaths and trees and playing Bing Crosby in October! I love the holidays and Christmas in particular- and I also hate them a little- but I'm a bit of a traditionalist on these matters. Besides, it merely dilutes all that is good and unique about Christmastime when it lasts for half of the year.
Mind you, I'm not one of those who rails against the so-called commercialization of Christmas. One of the grand traditions of the season, as much a part of it as tinsel, egg nog, and awkward conversations with relatives, is people bitching about how it's not what it used to be, it's too commercial, we've lost sight of the true meaning, whatever. Valid opinions all, and I won't argue that the merchandising is more in-your-face than ever, but as far as I'm concerned, that's simply true of our society and culture, not just Christmas. When people bemoan the loss of a pre-commercial Christmas, I always kind of wonder, when are they talking about? When they were young? Before they were born? I'm 41 and it's been very commercial all of my life. Far as I can tell, it was commercial for my parents' generation, and their parents' generation, and the one before that. I don't deny that there's certainly a higher ratio of commerce vs. religion than there used to be, but since the giving of presents during a winter solstice celebration goes back at least as far as the ancient Roman Saturnalia, I'd say the commercialization has existed at least for most of the history of European civilization. Considering that many of the traditional aspects of Christmas- indeed, much of Christianity itself- was taken from various ancient pagan sources, the aspects of the holiday that are now seen as secular or just plain crass actually existed long before the celebration of Christ's birth was arbitrarily inserted into this time of year because that's when people were going to whoop it up anyway. The "reason for the season" is a combination of the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth's axis and the natural inclination of human beings to find any excuse for a party. If we were to celebrate a truly traditional Christmas that got back to the "true meaning" of it all, we'd all be getting drunk, laid, and bathing in ram's blood. Um..... well, I guess maybe a lot of people DO get back to the true meaning of it all........
Don't get me wrong- I'm not dissing Christianity here, I'm just disagreeing with the notion that there was once a "pure" holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ (or at least a non-commercial winter holiday for those not so religiously inclined) and that we've lost sight of that in the face of rampant consumerism. Or perhaps I should say that we haven't specifically lost sight of Christmas; it's just a symptom of our modern society as a whole, and there are plenty of things we've lost sight of. As far as the holiday being stripped of much of its religious significance, that again is symptomatic of societal things- but it's also a personal choice. The holiday is as religious or secular as you want it to be. After all, aside from the fact that scripturally it's the wrong time of year, why not celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25? My feeling is that Christmas is what you make of it- or don't make of it. That's one of the reasons it's so unique- there is truly something for everyone. It can be a deeply spiritual experience focusing on the birth of the Lord. It can be an excuse to indulge your most decadently materialistic fantasies. It can be a time for good fellowship with the ones you love. It can be all of the above. Plus, it's a whole season, not just a day- it's at least a month's worth of whatever you want it to be. It has something to satisfy everyone- perhaps with the exception of the person who just wants it to go away. For that person, it is something that nothing can be done about, which must be endured until it is finally over, much like the Bush administration.
Like many people, I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. Obviously, this time of year can be one big ball of neverending stress, crowds, responsibility and obligation, not to mention near-bankruptcy. But I've never completely lost that childhood exhilaration about anything and everything Christmas. Oh sure, it's not a 24/7 ache for Christmas to arrive, like when I was 8 (now it's more of a dread of how little time is left), but feeling that crisp bite in the air still takes me back and reminds me that, however man-made it all may be, this time of year is just special. The friendship, the lights, the extra something everywhere- the guy at Starbuck's asking you AGAIN if you want to try the gingerbread syrup, the 1000th watching of Alistair Sim in "A Christmas Carol" (a story I admit I never get tired of, hoary chestnut though it is), even the cranky crowds and nightmarish traffic point to something unique, even exciting, going on- as Patton would say, "God help me- I love it so." And despite all the strain, I'm always let down when it's over, like finishing the run of a show (a metaphor for all my actor friends). Sure, you don't feel as nervous and your nights and weekends are free, but now what?
A lovely young friend of mine- who may actually read this- once told me, as we stood and looked at one of the gaudiest diplays of Christmas decorating overkill that ever graced the face of this misbegotten planet, that she hated Christmas because of all the waste. Point well taken, but I have to disagree with that assessment of the holiday. I guarantee, that person who puts on that godawful (but kinda fun) display every year blows that cash the other 11 months as well. It's just that at Christmastime, all the waste is on display for everyone to see. Ironically, since everything about the season is so obvious and in-your-face, the positive message also gets through more than at any other time of year. Goodwill and fellowship, charitable donations from people that don't even give lip service the rest of the year- even if it's all out of guilt or PR, it's certainly a welcome side effect of the holiday. Sure, the positive effects are certainly not universal, and I would never try to claim that Christmas doesn't produce plenty of waste, but I feel it's an oversimplification to dismiss the holiday as a meaningless exercise in excess. Even that gaudy display brings happiness to a lot of hearts, particularly very young ones, so in the end, is that really a waste?
In my opinion, if there's a holiday that's lost it's meaning, it's Thanksgiving. I love turkey, pumpkin pie and inflatable cartoon characters on the streets of New York as much as the next person, but ultimately, I find it to be a rather odd holiday. I know the idea ostensibly is to give thanks for what you have, or so we're told- but in practice it's a highly ritualized day of conspicuous consumption, far more even than Christmas. Not complaining, really- I just think it's odd, when you get down to it.
That said, I have specific traditionalist attitudes about Thanksgiving too, one of them being that it should not be as warm as it is right now around here! Yes, it's Fresno, and yes, it's not THAT warm, but come on! Record high temperatures at Thanksgiving? 77 degrees? That's just not right! Yes, I am more of a winter weather person, although growing up in Fresno, it's fog (rather than snow) that gets me in a holiday mood. It's a bit early now for fog, but it could at LEAST cool down to the sixties! Oh I know all the warm weather types will start acting like it's the end of the world as soon as the mercury drops below 70 or a wisp of cloud shades the sun- it's Fresno, people! You get your weather 362 days a year! Let me enjoy my three! I know perfectly well I'd be far too much of a wimp to ever make it through a REAL winter, like a Chicago winter, but still, as the forecast keeps calling for record highs, I almost envy the Northeast's nasty cold snap that's supposed to tie up all the holiday traffic. At least they'll have interesting weather for Thanksgiving.
Well, I certainly have written a lot. Congratulations to anyone who's made it this far. I will now end my screed about the holidays and set about the task of alternately enjoying and dreading them. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah/Chanukah, Happy Festivus, and I love you all!
Mind you, I'm not one of those who rails against the so-called commercialization of Christmas. One of the grand traditions of the season, as much a part of it as tinsel, egg nog, and awkward conversations with relatives, is people bitching about how it's not what it used to be, it's too commercial, we've lost sight of the true meaning, whatever. Valid opinions all, and I won't argue that the merchandising is more in-your-face than ever, but as far as I'm concerned, that's simply true of our society and culture, not just Christmas. When people bemoan the loss of a pre-commercial Christmas, I always kind of wonder, when are they talking about? When they were young? Before they were born? I'm 41 and it's been very commercial all of my life. Far as I can tell, it was commercial for my parents' generation, and their parents' generation, and the one before that. I don't deny that there's certainly a higher ratio of commerce vs. religion than there used to be, but since the giving of presents during a winter solstice celebration goes back at least as far as the ancient Roman Saturnalia, I'd say the commercialization has existed at least for most of the history of European civilization. Considering that many of the traditional aspects of Christmas- indeed, much of Christianity itself- was taken from various ancient pagan sources, the aspects of the holiday that are now seen as secular or just plain crass actually existed long before the celebration of Christ's birth was arbitrarily inserted into this time of year because that's when people were going to whoop it up anyway. The "reason for the season" is a combination of the 23.5 degree tilt of the Earth's axis and the natural inclination of human beings to find any excuse for a party. If we were to celebrate a truly traditional Christmas that got back to the "true meaning" of it all, we'd all be getting drunk, laid, and bathing in ram's blood. Um..... well, I guess maybe a lot of people DO get back to the true meaning of it all........
Don't get me wrong- I'm not dissing Christianity here, I'm just disagreeing with the notion that there was once a "pure" holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ (or at least a non-commercial winter holiday for those not so religiously inclined) and that we've lost sight of that in the face of rampant consumerism. Or perhaps I should say that we haven't specifically lost sight of Christmas; it's just a symptom of our modern society as a whole, and there are plenty of things we've lost sight of. As far as the holiday being stripped of much of its religious significance, that again is symptomatic of societal things- but it's also a personal choice. The holiday is as religious or secular as you want it to be. After all, aside from the fact that scripturally it's the wrong time of year, why not celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25? My feeling is that Christmas is what you make of it- or don't make of it. That's one of the reasons it's so unique- there is truly something for everyone. It can be a deeply spiritual experience focusing on the birth of the Lord. It can be an excuse to indulge your most decadently materialistic fantasies. It can be a time for good fellowship with the ones you love. It can be all of the above. Plus, it's a whole season, not just a day- it's at least a month's worth of whatever you want it to be. It has something to satisfy everyone- perhaps with the exception of the person who just wants it to go away. For that person, it is something that nothing can be done about, which must be endured until it is finally over, much like the Bush administration.
Like many people, I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. Obviously, this time of year can be one big ball of neverending stress, crowds, responsibility and obligation, not to mention near-bankruptcy. But I've never completely lost that childhood exhilaration about anything and everything Christmas. Oh sure, it's not a 24/7 ache for Christmas to arrive, like when I was 8 (now it's more of a dread of how little time is left), but feeling that crisp bite in the air still takes me back and reminds me that, however man-made it all may be, this time of year is just special. The friendship, the lights, the extra something everywhere- the guy at Starbuck's asking you AGAIN if you want to try the gingerbread syrup, the 1000th watching of Alistair Sim in "A Christmas Carol" (a story I admit I never get tired of, hoary chestnut though it is), even the cranky crowds and nightmarish traffic point to something unique, even exciting, going on- as Patton would say, "God help me- I love it so." And despite all the strain, I'm always let down when it's over, like finishing the run of a show (a metaphor for all my actor friends). Sure, you don't feel as nervous and your nights and weekends are free, but now what?
A lovely young friend of mine- who may actually read this- once told me, as we stood and looked at one of the gaudiest diplays of Christmas decorating overkill that ever graced the face of this misbegotten planet, that she hated Christmas because of all the waste. Point well taken, but I have to disagree with that assessment of the holiday. I guarantee, that person who puts on that godawful (but kinda fun) display every year blows that cash the other 11 months as well. It's just that at Christmastime, all the waste is on display for everyone to see. Ironically, since everything about the season is so obvious and in-your-face, the positive message also gets through more than at any other time of year. Goodwill and fellowship, charitable donations from people that don't even give lip service the rest of the year- even if it's all out of guilt or PR, it's certainly a welcome side effect of the holiday. Sure, the positive effects are certainly not universal, and I would never try to claim that Christmas doesn't produce plenty of waste, but I feel it's an oversimplification to dismiss the holiday as a meaningless exercise in excess. Even that gaudy display brings happiness to a lot of hearts, particularly very young ones, so in the end, is that really a waste?
In my opinion, if there's a holiday that's lost it's meaning, it's Thanksgiving. I love turkey, pumpkin pie and inflatable cartoon characters on the streets of New York as much as the next person, but ultimately, I find it to be a rather odd holiday. I know the idea ostensibly is to give thanks for what you have, or so we're told- but in practice it's a highly ritualized day of conspicuous consumption, far more even than Christmas. Not complaining, really- I just think it's odd, when you get down to it.
That said, I have specific traditionalist attitudes about Thanksgiving too, one of them being that it should not be as warm as it is right now around here! Yes, it's Fresno, and yes, it's not THAT warm, but come on! Record high temperatures at Thanksgiving? 77 degrees? That's just not right! Yes, I am more of a winter weather person, although growing up in Fresno, it's fog (rather than snow) that gets me in a holiday mood. It's a bit early now for fog, but it could at LEAST cool down to the sixties! Oh I know all the warm weather types will start acting like it's the end of the world as soon as the mercury drops below 70 or a wisp of cloud shades the sun- it's Fresno, people! You get your weather 362 days a year! Let me enjoy my three! I know perfectly well I'd be far too much of a wimp to ever make it through a REAL winter, like a Chicago winter, but still, as the forecast keeps calling for record highs, I almost envy the Northeast's nasty cold snap that's supposed to tie up all the holiday traffic. At least they'll have interesting weather for Thanksgiving.
Well, I certainly have written a lot. Congratulations to anyone who's made it this far. I will now end my screed about the holidays and set about the task of alternately enjoying and dreading them. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah/Chanukah, Happy Festivus, and I love you all!
posted by Zonthar at
6:42 PM
2 Comments
