ignorable Christmas
So for anybody that doesn't know, this may come as a surprise to you considering that some of my writings may have seemed to reflect a Christian belief, but I don't celebrate Christmas. I could get into the reasons in more detail, but I'll just summarize and say that Christmas really doesn't have a lot to do with the facts of the Bible (even though it is celebrated with scenes from the Gospels to be sure, even those are a little out of place), and I don't believe that either God or his son Jesus appreciates being worshiped with other symbolism blatantly borrowed from pagan religions. In fact, they said so somewhere. (And I feel like when the Creator of the universe expresses a strongly stated preference that I don't do something specific in attempts to honor Him, that disobeying that wish would be pretty counter-productive--since that very disobedience would be an act of dishonor.) But anyway, I digress.
As I was driving to work this morning, listening to ads on the radio, and realizing that our national Christmas holiday is only a week away, I was musing on exactly how out of place the traditional Christmas celebrations seem to me, in their completely non-religious aspects; and hence why I really don't identify with the holiday in the slightest bit! Think of all the typical scenes that Christmas conjures up in your mind. Yes, the baby in the manger with mother Mary and her husband Joseph. The wise men come to honor the newborn King in his human form. And yes, the department stores filled with glitzy displays and annoying music. But what does that music (and the music in all the commercials) feature? Sleigh bells! In my opinion sleigh bells were not meant to be accompaniment to catchy tunes; they are an intense enough auditory experience in their own right, and to mix them with music is just wrong. ;) But hey, I'm a musician. And again, I digress.
Sleigh bells come with sleighs. Sleighs come with snow! Christmas celebrations feature lights, to brighten up the shortest days of the year, and evergreen trees to demonstrate our faith that life will continue despite the temporary deficit of sunshine. From Superman's palace at the cold North Pole comes Santa Claus, a man with lots of body fat (to keep warm), and the warmest-looking red outfit (complete with hat) that you've ever seen. He needs it to be flying around the earth in December. His flying-carpet sleigh is pulled by reindeer that fly without wings. Magical or not, reindeer are native to the Arctic. "Yule logs" are supposed to have mystical properties, but let's not forget the practical aspects: to keep the house warm when it's freezing outside! And in the midst of more religiously-inspired seasonal music, we as a culture sing "Jingle Bells", "Let it Snow", "Frosty the Snowman", and many others inspired by cold, snowy weather.
Meanwhile, outside my window, it's 60 degrees and sunny. It rained briefly on Saturday. Yeah, Christmas means nothing to me. :-P
As I was driving to work this morning, listening to ads on the radio, and realizing that our national Christmas holiday is only a week away, I was musing on exactly how out of place the traditional Christmas celebrations seem to me, in their completely non-religious aspects; and hence why I really don't identify with the holiday in the slightest bit! Think of all the typical scenes that Christmas conjures up in your mind. Yes, the baby in the manger with mother Mary and her husband Joseph. The wise men come to honor the newborn King in his human form. And yes, the department stores filled with glitzy displays and annoying music. But what does that music (and the music in all the commercials) feature? Sleigh bells! In my opinion sleigh bells were not meant to be accompaniment to catchy tunes; they are an intense enough auditory experience in their own right, and to mix them with music is just wrong. ;) But hey, I'm a musician. And again, I digress.
Sleigh bells come with sleighs. Sleighs come with snow! Christmas celebrations feature lights, to brighten up the shortest days of the year, and evergreen trees to demonstrate our faith that life will continue despite the temporary deficit of sunshine. From Superman's palace at the cold North Pole comes Santa Claus, a man with lots of body fat (to keep warm), and the warmest-looking red outfit (complete with hat) that you've ever seen. He needs it to be flying around the earth in December. His flying-carpet sleigh is pulled by reindeer that fly without wings. Magical or not, reindeer are native to the Arctic. "Yule logs" are supposed to have mystical properties, but let's not forget the practical aspects: to keep the house warm when it's freezing outside! And in the midst of more religiously-inspired seasonal music, we as a culture sing "Jingle Bells", "Let it Snow", "Frosty the Snowman", and many others inspired by cold, snowy weather.
Meanwhile, outside my window, it's 60 degrees and sunny. It rained briefly on Saturday. Yeah, Christmas means nothing to me. :-P