Christmas, Isn't Christmas
Christmas this year was unlike most, since I was mostly too depressed to celebrate. Even my family's Christmas dinner was marred by my lack of cheer. Thank goodness for the Christmas Eve party thrown by inthemood4love, else I would not even have gone for any of the season's revelry. The poaching of the pears in red wine, and the making of the panna cotta was strangely therapeutic. So, I actually feel better after making them, and giving away some gifts.
Still wondering about the meaning of Christmas to people. Someone recently commented that he believed that God was a human construct, and that religion was there as a human creation to give people purpose to life. He surmised that most people would be rudderless in a world without faith and religion, and needed the moral compass or anchor in their lives.
With such a post-modern concept, then there would not be a reason to celebrate Christmas, since it would not commemorate the birth of the Christ-child. For the Christ, would either be a fictitious character, or simply a human (and not divine). With that in mind, would Christmas then not be just any other day, and the celebrations brought on, just be an excuse to drink some wine and eat too much?
Perhaps Christmas means a little too much for me, and I accept lugging the cultural baggage along into my life. From the Christmas tree in my living room (even though it was mostly barren of gifts this year), to the sound of carols (my iPod is still filled with carols); from the pilgrimage to Bethlehem years ago, to the giving of gifts to friends. What if it all came to naught, and that it is a day like any other day?
Still wondering about the meaning of Christmas to people. Someone recently commented that he believed that God was a human construct, and that religion was there as a human creation to give people purpose to life. He surmised that most people would be rudderless in a world without faith and religion, and needed the moral compass or anchor in their lives.
With such a post-modern concept, then there would not be a reason to celebrate Christmas, since it would not commemorate the birth of the Christ-child. For the Christ, would either be a fictitious character, or simply a human (and not divine). With that in mind, would Christmas then not be just any other day, and the celebrations brought on, just be an excuse to drink some wine and eat too much?
Perhaps Christmas means a little too much for me, and I accept lugging the cultural baggage along into my life. From the Christmas tree in my living room (even though it was mostly barren of gifts this year), to the sound of carols (my iPod is still filled with carols); from the pilgrimage to Bethlehem years ago, to the giving of gifts to friends. What if it all came to naught, and that it is a day like any other day?