Christmas thoughts

Well, the guy in the funny red and white suit will be here in a few days. Of course, I'm not ready yet. There's more shopping to do, decorations to get up, cookies to bake, presents to wrap, sprucing up for the impending visit by the family, etc. What a pain. Why do we do this to ourselves every year? I'm not sure if I like the lights on the tree, and that one ornament on that middle branch is hanging slightly crooked. And who's going to pay the electric bill for all these frigging lights. God, I hope my Master Card account gets confused with someone elses so I don't have to actually pay for all these stupid presents. And who is the clown that dreamed up this Santa Claus character anyway. Well, at least I get a day off work. Humbug!!!!!!!!!

That's my rant for the day. It's not actually true, but it's a rant.

Generally, I like Christmas. I enjoy exchanging gifts and spending time with family. Lighting up the Christmas tree can be fun as can be putting up all the ornaments (some of which have storys behind them, others just crack me up, like the "Hark it's Herald" series from Hallmark). This year, we even put out the "Dickens Village" pieces that haven't come out of their box for years and more than 75% of the nutcracker collection (yet no nuts, go figure). The "Holiday" plates and cups are getting used and there are even lights out in the yard. Yep, the trappings are all there and I enjoy them.

But, the trappings can actually become a trap. It is easy to get so focused on all the peripheral aspects of Christmas that you almost forget about the really important stuff. That being that it is supposed to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus, even though he was most certainly not born on December 25th, all those years ago. But somewhere down the line, someone selected this time of year for the celebration. So, Happy Birthday Jesus (probably a few months late, annually).


And, while I'm thinking about it, imagine if we celebrated Christ,s birth in, say, September.

Santa would probably have to wear shorts.
Bing Cosby would have to dream of a something other than a white Christmas ("I'm dreaming of a green and sunny Christmas").
Santa's sleigh would need wheels, not runners.
Frosty would only be a drink at Wendy's.
Jack frost might still nip at peoples noses, but not in any Christmas carol.
The whole idea of including the fire place in the Christmas tradition might be replaced by either the gas grill or the air conditioner unit (depends on your preference).
Egg nog, bye bye! (no loss).
Fruit cake, ditto.
Sleds for Christmas, out. Bicycles, skate boards, etc., in.
Christmas stockings replaced by Christmas Flip-flops?
Thanksgiving as the start of the Christmas shoping season replaced by the fourth of July (oops, that one's already happened).
And we'd all still get so caught up in all the trappings that we might forget about the true meaning of Christmas.