What is Christmas?

[adultlike_child]

Who: Arnold and Nall
What: Arnold's shopping for Christmas-y plants to decorate the garden a little, and Nall's going to ask him about Christmas.
Where: The store area.
When: Just after this thread.
Notes: Edited due to LJ fail.
Warnings:  Nall's been asking about Christmas traditions, including Jesus and all that.  So some religious chatter through the

Comments

[catslooklikeme]

Nall trotted along at a brisk pace to go meet Arnold, anxious to get some more answers about this Christmas thing. He'd talked with Danny about the holiday prior to arranging to meet Arnold and now was more confused then ever. What was all this about some guy getting nailed to wood? What did that all have to do with giving people presents, and how did a man in a red coat factor into it all?

It seemed weird to Nall... this holiday was apparently very different from any they celebrated on Lunar. He had briefly wondered if the goddess Althena would take offense to him celebrating a holiday unrelated to her, but quickly brushed aside that thought. He didn't think the goddess of love and creation would mind... after all, Althena walked amongst humans every few generations to make sure they were getting along well. He was sure she'd just be satisfied that one of her children was happy and enjoying himself...

...even if that child was in another world... and a wee bit different from the majority of her others.

Come to think of it, Nall didn't think Arnold was even aware of his second form... no, he couldn't remember speaking to him in it. Hmm... that didn't seem quite right. Arnold was a good kid, and Nall didn't like the thought that he was possibly keeping a secret from his new friend. But spontaneously announcing, "Oh yea, I have a second body that looks a lot like an animal!" was kind of strange too.

Well, he'd get around to it one way or another. Arnold would find out soon enough. Everyone in Memento Eden found out eventually.

He spotted his friend and waved in greeting as he approached. "Hey, man! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!"

[adultlike_child]

No, Arnold had no idea about another form for Nall. As far as he knew, Nall was Nall, and that was it.

Arnold raised a hand in a wave, smile on his face. "Hey, Nall! No, not long."

He pushed off from the pole, walking over in Nall's direction.

"Not sure where this place is," he admitted. "But I guess that just gives us more time to talk, doesn't it?"

Judging from the massive amount of confusion, Arnold had a lot of explaining to do for Nall. Confusing Santa with Jesus? Whoever he'd talked to before must not've been very clear.

[catslooklikeme]

"Glad to hear! People have been complaining about it gettin' colder lately!" Though Nall wasn't exactly sure why... maybe it had chilled just a little, but Nall didn't find the weather particularly cold at all... but then again, he wasn't exactly normal.

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but I'm sure we'll find it," he smiled. "Until then, why don't we just start at the beginning with this Christmas thing... I uhm... don't think I've got it understood very well."

[adultlike_child]

"It has been getting colder," Arnold admitted. "Not too bad though."

Arnold started to walk. "Well, I guess the best thing to do would be to start at the beginning. About I think two thousand years ago, a baby was born to a woman named Mary. Her son was supposed to be the Son of God, and shepherds and wisemen came to see him." He glanced at a few stores before continuing on. "The reason he was so special was because he was supposed to be a sacrifice.

"Someone told me--not sure who--that in those days, to be forgiven for the wrong things you'd done, you had to sacrifice a lamb to God. But this boy was to grow up and die, sacrificing himself to forgive everyone's sins: past, present, and future. Jesus--the boy--was called the Savior."

Arnold didn't have the impression that he'd attended church all that often. But the story was familiar enough. Anyone who knew anything about Christmas knew the religious tale.

[catslooklikeme]

Nall followed in step and tried to keep up in thought. "That... seems like a really raw deal. This Jesus man must have really loved people to go so far as to die for them... but... how did he die? I mean, if he was the son of a god, wouldn't he be pretty powerful?"

[adultlike_child]

"It was a pretty raw deal. He healed the sick and helped those who couldn't help themselves. In the end, he was nailed to a cross..." Arnold made the shape with his fingers. "...the, uh, big piece of wood Danny told you about, where he finally died. He could've gotten down, but he stayed up there. So, yeah, he did love people a lot. Dying for them was his gift to them." He put his hands in his pockets to warm his fingers. "It ties in with the Easter story, actually. Three days later, he rose from the grave before going on to Heaven to be with God. According to the Christians--people who follow his teachings, believe he truly was the Son of God, and accept his sacrifice for them--he's going to come back to Earth one day, but nobody knows when."

Arnold glanced around at the surrounding stores. "I guess that's where the gift giving thing came from. Jesus gave us himself to show us how much he loved us, and we give those we care about gifts to show how much we love them.

"Santa, however, is a bit different. I'm not sure how that started. I've heard so many different stories that I get mixed up," he admitted. "But the basic thing is that once a year, he flies around in his sleigh pulled by eight flying reindeer and brings presents to good children. He leaves lumps of coal for bad ones. He travels around the world, stopping at every house, in one night." He glanced up at Nall. "Santa's the guy we're imitating with the Secret Santas. I get the feeling that my family did Secret Santas a lot."

[catslooklikeme]

"So Jesus died... and then came back... and then went to Heaven," Nall reiterated. "...but I still don't understand, if he was the son of a god, who was dumb enough to kill enough? I mean, weren't they afraid of what would happen?" Althena had no children, but Nall couldn't even imagine what she would have done if she had reproduced and that child had been murdered. Althena was a kind goddess... but she didn't like to see any of her children suffer. If it had been her own... "Why didn't this god smite the people who killed Jesus?"

"Why coal for the bad kids?" Nall questioned further. "Is it symbolic or something? ...hey!" he exclaimed. "Did you remember your family?"

[adultlike_child]

"I really can't explain it very well. You'll have to talk to a Christian priest," Arnold apologized. "And I don't understand the coal thing either to be honest. I think it's just tradition, but I don't know."

Arnold spied a gardening store with the plants he'd been hoping for on full display outside. "Here we go."

The plants were beautiful with their lush green leaves and large red petals. Three on each side of the front door would be perfect.

[catslooklikeme]

"Huh... a Christian priest... I wonder if there are any of those in Memento Eden," Nall pondered aloud.

Nall noted that Arnold didn't answer his question about his family, but didn't press the issue. He didn't want to upset Arnold in case he hadn't.

Instead he observed the plants that had caught the boy's attention. "Hey, those're neat! What are they? Do you know?"

[adultlike_child]

Arnold had had only vague impressions of the Christmas traditions his family followed. The Secret Santas thing had been incredibly familiar, so he had the general feeling that it was something his family had done. Either that or he was fooling himself. He didn't want to think too much about that possibility.

He smiled at Nall's interest. "They're called 'poinsettias'. A lot of people put them out at Christmas. Not sure how that tradition started either." He gave a small self-depreciating laugh. "Sorry but your Christmas 'expert' isn't much of an expert.

"I was thinking about putting three of these on either side of the front door," he explained, "but I don't think we've got enough hands to carry six of them. Maybe we can ask the owner if we can borrow a cart." He looked at the red foil concealing the pots. "Probably would be a good idea to leave them in their pots. That way anyone can take one after Christmas is done."

[catslooklikeme]

"Hey, don't worry about it," Nall smiled. "I appreciate the help, even if you can't answer all of my questions. I mean, if you had questions about stuff related to Lunar, I can't guarantee I'd remember everything either!"

Nall paused a moment, thinking to himself. "Leaving them in the pots might not be a bad idea... I bet that some of the girls wouldn't mind keeping one after the holidays."

[adultlike_child]

Arnold smiled. "Yeah, that'll work." He then frowned before smiling while shaking his head. "We're probably not going to be able to carry all six without dropping plants. I'll go see if we can borrow a cart."