My idea of Christmas
In the times long before Christ and before Capitalism, there was a Yule festival. During the Yule festival, the men of the village would go out and cut down the biggest tree they could find and bring it to the village square, and start it burning. They did this on the Winter Solstice, and kept it going for 12 days, until the new year. During this festival, the people of the village would gather together for great feasts. They would sing, and dance, and give each other gifts. It was a celebration of spirit.
To be honest, I don’t know if that’s all true, of if I’ve just pieced together the better portions of a thousand different stories into something that sounds blissful in my mind. Maybe I remember it exactly as I’ve read it, or maybe I remember it as I want to believe it was. Either way, it sounds pretty nice to me.
I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by people — mostly family — who are not afraid to challenge conventional thinking and do things differently, and Christmas is no exception. Some of the people around me are non-religious, and non-traditional, and prefer not to participate in what they see as nothing more than a capitalism holiday. Some are traditional, and they don’t care about the history of the season, they only care about what it means to them: time spent with family. Some are very religious, and choose to focus on the story of Christ rather than on the story of Santa Claus. There are even some who have abolished the idea of Christmas altogether, professing that taking part in any way is entirely blasphemous to their faith. (Fortunately, those in the last group do not have kids!)
I don’t consider myself to be a big believer in tradition, and anyone who has read my web site knows I’m not terribly religious. But I consider it to be a benefit that I have people around me who are. I have heard numerous arguments for and against Christmas, and have been presented with many reasons and justifications and explanations and theories. If nothing else, it has given me a wealth of perspective in determining my own interpretation of the holiday.
For me, Christmas is a sentiment. It’s not a holiday, and it’s not a holy day. It’s a feeling, not a reason to shop. It’s bundling up in warm clothes, hearing happy music, seeing your breath, and thinking about others instead of myself. It’s snow, and gloves, and warm drinks, and fun gatherings, and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.
I enjoy giving gifts, but I feel no obligation to do so. I give gifts to show my appreciation for the blessings I receive from those around me… not to prove my loyalty or sentiment. I put a lot of thoughts into my gifts, because I want to show that I have thought about the recipient. You can’t replace thought with dollars. No extravagance of price can make up for the lack of consideration.
I also enjoy receiving gifts, but I don’t ever expect them. Not from anyone. In the same way that I don’t give out of obligation, I don’t want to receive a gift out of perceived obligation. And your price tags won’t impress me… only the thought you put into showing me what I mean to you.
I’m not rich, but I am thankful to say that I can pretty much afford to buy whatever I want. And since I don’t have many wants, I generally do so. I like that, because it allows me to think about what really matters at the holidays. Giving, and receiving of gifts can be fun, and even sentimental, but what really matters is being with the people who really matter — and not just for one day.
After thousands of years, we still have Christmas trees and Yule logs. We still have 12 days of Christmas, leading into the new year. We still have gatherings and feasts and gifts. Sure, many of the details have changed — we now have Santa Clause, and Scrooge, and Trading Places — but the warm sentiment is still there.
