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So This Is Christmas
We are about to enter what should be the holiest, happiest, best doggone time of the year. It is Christmas! As kids, we would just about burst as we waited for Christmas Day to arrive. We were on our best behavior, as far as our parents knew, and everyone seemed to walk around with a fresh and renewed energy that was very contagious. It just did not get any better than Christmas. Isn't it amazing, that just by making it to adulthood, this transformation can open your eyes to things that sour even something as wonderful as Christmas? Apparently, there is more going on at Christmas than just presents, Sugar Plum Fairies, manger scenes, and some fairly tacky Christmas decorations. Apparently, the spirit of Christmas has to do constant battle with the spirit of Scrooge…and others.
Recently, I saw some news footage of a huge pre-Christmas sale that was taking place at a local department store. Once the door was open, it was like the running of the bulls in Spain. People were literally being trampled at the door. The police were called in to restore order to what was about to become a riot. It looked more like a wrestling match mentality than that of people practicing the adage of "it is better to give than to receive." It was more so "it is better to give way than be received by my foot." What a great example.
Remember when the Christmas movies were truly classics. All of the family would gather around to start the Christmas season out with one of these age old beauties. Have you seen some of the ones out lately? Apparently, according to recent depiction, Santa has become a slobbering drunk, who curses like the proverbial sailor and who has a flatulation problem that truly deserves medical attention. It seems as if the kind old Santa that we grew up with is just not the kind that sells tickets to a movie. Great example!
What about the toys that we are shelling out major bucks for? Video games that glorify violence, dolls that are dressed a tad shy of even your most conservative liberal, and music that attempts to convince our kids that thugdom is a viable option. Some of this music makes the barking dog jingle bells sound like classical music. What we are giving our kids is certainly not toys. They are tools that are changing and altering our kid's entire character, all why we try to figure out how we will pay for these "gifts". It would be cheaper to just take your kids to the tattoo parlor, buy them a weapon, change their name to some one syllable acronym for pathetic and tell them to have a Merry *##**## Christmas.
Christmas is the time for families to get together to celebrate each other and the season. Other than an occasional outburst by some dear relatives who thought that eggnog was a breakfast item, most of my memories are fond ones. Today, the holiday season leads the entire year as to the number of domestic violence calls that are received. Moms and Dads, who may or may not be married, are fighting in front of the kids on Christmas Day. Some of these fights end up with one or the other being carted off to jail or the hospital and some to the morgue. Ho ho ho! Hey kids, are you having a Merry Christmas? I wonder how these kids will look back on their Christmas memories? Surely, we can be peaceful for one or two days in order to allow our kids to truly have a Merry Christmas. Naaah, I can hear them already; "Well… the kids are important, but what about my needs?" Here we go! For those parents who fall into this category, I would refer you to Chapter 1 of How to Be A Parent. It is called, Get Over Yourself and Get On With Your Life!!
So this is Christmas? It may be, but it does not resemble the Christmas that I grew up with. I am not saying that mine were perfect, but I would not trade my worst one for what I see today. Some folks are even upset with the name of the season all together. Apparently, using the word Christmas is not being sensitive to some people's needs. They want to remove the Christ part of the word. Herein lies the problem. As upsetting as this may be to most of us, I can assure you that Christ was removed from the season, by some people, a long, long, time ago. Others never knew there was a connection in the first place. I think as long as we do not hang anything on the courthouse walls, we will be okay with the wording as to this particular season.
Otherwise, when in Scroogeville, do as the scrooges do. So, listen up everyone who is intent on ruining what is left of one of the few traditions that we still have in this country. Get out of the way, shut up for a while, quit your moaning and groaning, quit your fussing and fighting, stop your proliferation of media trash, stop your "all about me" philosophy, give the political correctness a brief rest, save your self-righteous views for another day and for once in our lives, lets hope that we do not screw up the one thing that kids still dream about. Do you think you can do that? Do you?
And by the way, Merry Christmas!
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