Susnot

Christmas Eve

MERRY CHRISTMAS (one day early)

It is always interesting to me that there is so much issue over the phrase "Merry Christmas". It would seem as though everyone has issue with it.

If you are Christian: You object to the commercialism that has been created when really the date is intended to celebrate Christ's birth.

If you are not Christian: You object to being subjected to a phrase that was coined by Christians and that fact that most nations in the world seem to recognize holidays and give days off based on Christian holidays as opposed to Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist etc... holidays.

If you don't believe in any type of Religion/Faith: It's a nice time to buy some presents, get together with your family, and eat a lot of good food.

I realize my statements are more generalizations and there is much more to it than just that. But it makes me tired that so many people have such an easy time with creating issue with what is supposed to be a happy time of year.

I am always amazed by how capable human beings are at just fowling up a good thing. I mean, the intent of the holiday is to be a time of giving and sharing. But then you have all these anxieties that come up. For single people, they have to worry about questions about why they are not with someone. For people who don't make enough money to buy presents, they become anxious over having charged up hundreds of dollars on their credit cards to pay for things that they aren't even sure the recipient will like. For families who don't like each other, it's a stressful day of polite conversation and dodging old issues that were never and will likely never be resolved.

I am lucky in that.. for the most part my holidays have always been pretty happy. My biggest thing is that as I grow older I find that the people I used to spend time with are in the process of establishing their own families so I don't get to see them like I used to. I realize that I too am creating my own family and new traditions will be established. But I liked the way things were. And I really wish that somehow that could continue. I'm sure it will. It's just different now. Change is always inevitable. You never know what is going to happen. So I guess the lesson I should take away from this is... you cherish the moments you do have and you work to preserve what you can. But you have to be flexible and realize that if things change, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Just means you have more to work with.

posted by Susnot @ 2:35 PM