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| My 2015 Christmas Tree. |
In memory of my late, former mother-in-law, Judy: "Merry Fffff..ng Christmas!! That is F for "Fake." It occurred to me recently, that Christmas has turned into a fake holiday designed to sell product and generate revenue. It's a big show for everyone.
I'm not sure when Christmas lost its soul but it is no longer the same. Christmas now starts in September and snowballs into December. The same dozen or so songs are constantly playing in all the stores all the time. I read about a DJ who got so fed up that he played the same song over and over, over 20-some times before they broke the door down and switched the record. It drove everyone crazy to hear the song continuously. Therefore, one has to wonder what the motives are for the folks who play the same songs over and over for months.
Everyone has fake (I mean artificial) Christmas trees. My protest is make my own tree and tape it to my apartment door where someone can actually see it (as they pass through the hallway). It may not be a real tree but I made it fresh this year.
Christmas is actually fading away. It is morphing into just "holidays." Happy Holidays everyone says. We have Holiday parties at work. People send (email, text, tweet, twit) holiday greetings. No more Christmas cards-Seasons Greetings instead. In many places it is considered improper to say "Merry Christmas" or to post red and green decorations. Really.
Christmas cards are out. If you don't want a holiday photo (generally of the kids only), there are online services (e.g., Shutterfly) that will not only print your card but will mail them to your list so that you don't even have to touch them (if you want to add a personal touch, Shutterfly will send them back to you ready to go except for the stamp).
This year I received several text greetings from siblings on Christmas. Several included pictures. Most were sent to multiple people rather than just to me. Efficient but impersonal. WWJD? I despise these kinds of texts. None of these siblings bothered to call me. They were apparently too busy (sending mass texts I suppose).
FedEx is working Christmas Day in order to squeeze out more $$$ (and indulge your materialism).
When I was growing up, it was a big deal to go to midnight Mass. Now, it is almost impossible to find a Mass at midnight. Most churches have a service/mass in the evening (10 p.m. at the latest) on Christmas Eve. This way you don't have to bother leaving the house on Christmas Day to attend religious services. What does religion have to do with Christmas anyway?
The weather today was (appropriately) unseasonably warm. The grass is dark green and no sign of snow so far this year. This must mean that Pope Francis is right about global warming (errrr, I mean Climate Change). Bless me Father for I have sinned....
Like last year (and Thanksgiving), I went for a walk to justify indulging in the gluttony of a Christmas holiday dinner. Since I walked for about an hour and a half, I probably covered three or four miles. While walking, I had a nice chat with my mom and a couple of my sisters courtesy of the miracle of a cell phone. However, I was shocked and disappointed to hear from my mom that she had not gone to Mass. It apparently wasn't very high on their list of things to do for Christmas. I guess that is what contemporary RCism does to a person.
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| Sunset on Christmas Day at the end of my (first) walk. |
Later, after eating, I went for another walk to work off the calories (hahahaha). Again, thanks to my mobile phone, I had a nice chat with a nephew, niece, and one of my sisters.
And so Christmas Day drew to a close. What is Christmas? How did we get to this place now? Happy Solstice, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings.
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Shone Knife - Space Christmas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noq_JBcMM08
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Written Saturday 26 December 2015
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