Christmas is fine. Xmas, however, is a blight. The season of Xmas brings an overabundance of crass commercialism and traffic. It removes my classic rock station and replaces it with jingle goddamn bells. Of late, the Xmas season has gotten worse; a yearly drumbeat of cultural warfare has gotten louder, and the Christmas season more politicized.
But this year has brought me a gift in the low ticket sales enjoyed by Glenn Beck. In case you haven't heard, his Christmas-sweater show has bombed. I celebrated tonight by attending an underground punk show at the Black Owl.
Have I mentioned that the musical culture of Muscle Shoals, Alabama is incredibly diverse?
But this year has brought me a gift in the low ticket sales enjoyed by Glenn Beck. In case you haven't heard, his Christmas-sweater show has bombed. I celebrated tonight by attending an underground punk show at the Black Owl.
Have I mentioned that the musical culture of Muscle Shoals, Alabama is incredibly diverse?
I hate Xmas too .... because of this, an attempt to make Xmas carols mandatory in public schools (and confer a right to sue the schools if they don't).
ReplyDeleteWinter solstice, anyone?
I agree that Xmas is "hurry up", "make money", "move along", "get it done". I like Christmas...the season, the lights, the shopping, the people, the spirit...so many have FORGOTTEN the MEANING and replaced traditions with STUFF...it's so sad.
ReplyDeleteChristmas has had a spotty history and has been a long way out of favor for very long spells because it periodically degenerates into bawdiness and commercialism - as it has once again. It used to be worse. We only have the mistletoe to remind us of the orgies that used to go on in early times.
ReplyDeleteIt's nothing new. It's always been criticized and sometimes banned by church authorities for it's flagrantly pagan origins. It's after all the birthday of the sun God Constantine was high priest of and to whom we owe Sunday as a special day. Some earlier Christians felt Jesus had absolved them of Sabbath observation.
It's only Fox News that says it's under attack by secularists, which it isn't. As an atheist, I happen to like it - or as it was until it became a political football in the war on freedom or religion. One of the few times in the year you could count on people to be nice and almost tolerant for a change. What could be better - or Christian or Buddhist or humanist, for that matter?
But it's hard to say there is a Christmas tradition, it's so mixed with Greco-Persian- Roman traditions, and old Norse Yule traditions and our perception of a traditional Christmas owes far more to Coca-Cola, Montgomery Wards advertising campaigns and Charles Dickens than to Christian scriptural sources. Really, did Jesus ever see a decorated pine tree at all, much less as a symbol of his teaching? The only canonical mention of Jesus' birth, as I'm sure you know -- written more than half a century later -- suggests April which was lambing time, although that may well be an effort to tie him to the lamb sacrifice / Passover ritual as well as to the Zoroastrian virgin-born savior or the Mithra myth so popular with the Roman legions. His birthday just wasn't important to people until long after he left the building and became the son of God, born of a Virgin -- just like Mithra, Horus and all the traditional man-gods.
Actually if you're the sort of Christian (or humanist)who thinks it should all center around his teachings, you might see the holiday like a sailor sees barnacles on his hull even without the shopping mall madness we have today. That too is a tradition.
(O)CT(O)PUS is in an inky mood today. I despise the godbots and the noisy rabble that always ruin the holiday spirit, and the relentless reactionary rightwing hacks and their criminal hackers in search of conspiracies, and the crooks in Congress who sell us out every time. Today, I’d rather kick a LaRouchie, tear someone’s face off, and drown all humanity in a tidal pool.
ReplyDeleteMay I open my presents now?
To all who live here at the Swash Zone and all who visit here - I am determined to NOT let the pious, self-serving hacks ruin my winter season with their irritating whining and ludicris arguments.
ReplyDeleteAnd so, I'M GOING TO SPEAK VERY LOUDLY HERE AND WISH YOU ALL A VERY ENJOYABLE WHATEVER HOLIDAY YOU CELEBRATE. AND IF DON'T CELEBRATE ANY HOLIDAYS, THEN I WISH YOU A SAFE AND COMFORTABLE WINTER SEASON!
I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THE PRETTY LIGHTS ON A DREARY DAY, GREAT FOOD AND A WARM HOUSE, THE PLEASANT COMPANY OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND A BRIGHTER NEW YEAR!
And Matt, perhaps the radio is playing all that annoying music as a reminder to you to shut off the radio and get out more. Hope you enjoy the show!
I’d rather be obstinate … wearing a bratty beanie hat with a propeller on top spinning in the wind.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rocky for the wishes and Fogg for the history. Open your presents, Octo. Matt, a best-worst "Xmas" moment for me occurred some years ago when I was strolling through the mall in December and heard the Rolling Stones' "I can't get no satisfaction" playing as elevator muzak. It struck me as the quintessence of what you called "Xmas" -- a fine holiday reduced to silly jingles designed to prime everyone to BUY MORE STUFF.
ReplyDeleteChristmas really ought to remind us of the hope, innocence, and joy that each new child sets before us as the purpose of life. Indeed, each birth (of any creature, great or small) rightly understood, is a miracle in its way.
Those who deploy religious symbols as ideological weapons evidently understand no such thing -- they simply need to feel persecuted as a means of shoring up their tenuous convictions.
Here's a poem by the Anglican poet George Herbert that I like to read around this season: Prayer 1.
Those versions of Christmas carols that get played in stores should be used on the terrorists in Guantanamo to extract information. I'm sure they'd be more effective than waterboarding.
ReplyDeleteChristmas? I've already got my festive "Bah, humbug!" screen saver turned on on my computer.
May all humanity be baffled and befuddled by the din of: "Bah, bughum !!"
ReplyDeletei hate xmas so much
ReplyDeletemy parents turn up today and went in 5 mins could not wait to go to my sister for there dinner i was not invited so spenting it alone
cannot wait to go back to work
nothing to do and noware to go shops all shut just watch tv and nothing on
i hate xmas and the new year