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Christmas Day 2024
In case you’ve only recently arrived on this planet, today is Christmas Day. Everybody here already knows, so try to catch up. 🛷
🎄🎁 More Than Retail Therapy 💝👨🏻👩🏻👧🏻👦🏻
Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more! ~Dr. Seuss
Even if you’re not religious, there’s still more to Christmas than decorations and presents.
As a cultural cornerstone of Western civilization, Christianity has informed our way of life for the last two thousand years.
Even in the current age of secularism, we still have an underlying structure of Christian morality and thought.
As such, Christmas is about getting together with family, slowing down to reflect on the year and selfless generosity.
How you choose to reflect those basic points is a personal decision, but they are the underpinning of the holiday season.
Rejoice. Love your neighbor as yourself. Be still and listen to the still, small voice. ‘Tis the Season.
Linus Knew
A Charlie Brown Christmas – True Meaning
So, what’s it all about?
As much as last Saturday was about the meteorological season and the reason was axial tilt, the reason for this season is exactly what Linus said.
Whether you’re religious, secular, counter-culture or alien to the whole Judeo-Christian dynamic, that is still the reason for this particular season.
If you’re indifferent, ambivalent or too socially numb to care, consider looking into religion. It can help you find the peace you’re missing.
If you’re stridently anti-religion, that’s fine. Everybody has to find their own path. There may be a reason you feel that way, and that’s fine.
Just because you had a problem with one denomination doesn’t mean you can’t find fellowship and spiritual family with one of the others.
Dumping religion because you had a bad experience at a particular church is literally throwing the baby (Jesus) out with the bathwater.
If you’re a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu or some other nonJudeo-Christian and you’re happy to be so, great. Have some egg nog and sing along with the tunes on the radio.
You can have Christmas, too. Even though it’s grounded in religion, it has been secularized to the point that anybody can celebrate it simply for the fun of it.
We’re glad to have you. Jingle those bells and decorate those trees. It’s all good.
Go Scrooge Yourself
The unfortunate thing about working for yourself is that you have the worst boss in the world. I work every day of the year except at Christmas, when I work a half day. ~David Eddings
In case you’re wondering, I’m GenX. So, if you’re planning to cancel me for using a David Eddings quote, you’re cordially invited to take a long walk off a short pier.
I only just learned about David Eddings and his wife recently and, as detestable as their behavior was, I basically don’t fucking care. Again, GenX.
I don’t conflate author with work. I like Eddings’ stories. I don’t have to like him to like his books.
Somebody might be completely detestable and be a great writer. Somebody might be somebody I could consider a veritable saint and be an awful writer.
One does not lead to the other. Crappy people can have marvelous ideas.
If they have marvelous ideas and the skill and discipline to complete a book, I give them an enthusiastic golf clap.
Congrats, you reprehensible dirtbag, you did something that 99.9% of people are too lazy or lame-brained to even try.
Here’s a sad little secret, people who are driven enough to accomplish anything usually have, at the very least, some abrasive characteristics.
Not just writing, but every field of human endeavor has countless examples of people you wouldn’t leave your kids with for a half hour.
They can be admirable for their work, and simultaneously reprehensible for their behavior.
Coming back to my original statement: So fucking what?
Unless somebody is literally hiding torture chambers in their house or conducting experiments like the scientists of the SS, who cares?
Mind your own biz. Chances are, somebody thinks you’re literally Hitler because of whatever.
If you eat meat, Vegans think you are Satan.
If you are one religion, fundamentalists of another religion think you are a demon.
If you support this sports team or that one, there is some slavering superfan of an opposing team who would shove you into traffic for wearing team paraphernalia.
If you eat canned peas, I think you’re demented.
If you try to feed me canned peas, I think you’re insidious and cruel.
Everybody’s got an opinion about something. Nobody is a saint to everybody.
I, on the other hand, pretty much give zero fucks unless you’re stepping directly on my toes.
So, would I read another David Eddings book? Yes, there are some I haven’t gotten to yet and I’ll probably enjoy them as much as I did the others.
Will I give a single thought about the author while I am reading them? Other than thinking that I like the way this guy writes and worldbuilds, no.
I simply don’t care. I am not a fanboy. I don’t have to worship a writer to read their stuff.
I love the works of Charles Dickens. There’s a high likelihood that if he jumped out of a time machine and had lunch with me, he’d probably drive me up the wall.
I don’t have to like the author in order to like the work, and neither do you. If you do feel such a compulsion, I seriously recommend psychiatric therapy.
Stop it. Get some help. It’s just a book. You can like it without having to put the author on a pedestal.
If you want to worship somebody, worship God. Now go away. You bother me.
That’s your dose of Christmas cheer. See you this weekend for National Chocolate Candy Day.