Christmas musings
This Christmas season I’ve really noticed how, even to me, the whole Christmas festival is fleeing from the “Christ” bit at the beginning.
I wrote this last year, and I’ve noticed it even more this year, what with working in retail. I’ve read a few blog entries on the subject, discussing whether or not as Christians we should partake in a secularised festival (the general feeling was that Christ’s birth is something to celebrate, so just be careful you think of that and not just the festival itself – a simplified view but there’s no need to go into it).
Christmas this year will be different. I’m having just tomorrow and Monday off, before returning to work. I never work Sundays or Mondays anyway, so this isn’t a proper holiday. We had our evening meal just now and I thought “it’s Christmas tomorrow” but it didn’t feel like it.
Why is there such an emphasis on “feeling Christmassy”, incidently? Talking to Chris on Sunday got me thinking about this. People seem to want to get into a “Christmassy mood”. What this involves (as far as I can tell) is feeling happy, maybe a touch childish and frivolous, and having Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer stuck on your brain. I’m quite happy that I’m not feeling Christmassy, have just made a reasonably frivolous statement and have now got Rudolph stuck on my brain, so paradoxically I am now complying to my own definition, even though the happiness is caused by not. This could go on forever.
It doesn’t feel like it’s Christmas tomorrow. This is because I’ve actually been out to work today, which is the first time I’ve ever worked on Christmas Eve. Is it important that it feels like Christmas though? I mean, we celebrate Christ’s birth at Christmas but it’s not as if we believe that any more on this one day, so what’s the problem?
Incidently, cousin Sparticus has just finished his series on the origins of the Christmas festival which is worth a read. I quite like the theory (which isn’t mentioned) that Jesus must have been born in spring or autumn as that is when the shepherds would have been out on the hills. And just so everyone is quite clear, the only kings mentioned in the passage on Jesus’ birth are Herod and Jesus – and the wise men aren’t mentioned till later (probably two years chronologically). Mary may well have ridden on a donkey but it’s not mentioned, and the “inn” there was no room in was probably just a guest room of Joseph’s family home – they’d have ended up in the next-door room with the animals, of which there are no cows mentioned. Finally, Fair Trade chocolate advent calendars may taste great, but they’re still theologically erroneous.
Matthew @ 20:39, December 24, 2005 to Diary | Comments (7)
Comments:
Sheepie
Hey, I don’t feel like it’s Christmas tomorrow either. Possibly because it’s only been me who’s been on holiday…
Comment added at 21:38, December 24, 2005
Cat
“Theologically erroneous”… oh Matthew.
Comment added at 22:10, December 24, 2005
Rory
I worked on Christmas Eve last year… It wasn’t that bad… I didn’t get paid any extra though.
I personally have always liked the theory that the “three wise men” were actually Zoroastrian priests from Persia…
I haven’t read Sparticus’ article, but I’m about to, and I’ll leave the appropriate comments there, not here…
Anyway, all I’ll say is that all I know is that Christmas is simply a pagan holiday adapted to Christian purposes… the Europeans still wanted a wintertime fun-session, but they wanted to do it in the name of Christ. I’ve seen some predictions that put Christ’s birthday at around April, based on astronomical observations at the time.
Comment added at 16:42, December 25, 2005
Matthew
I quite like the theory that, as the premier astrologers of the time, the wise men were in fact Chinese.
Cat: okay, so not theologically erroneous – but they mention the three kings! *ahem*
Comment added at 20:15, December 25, 2005
Mr E
It didn’t really feel like it was Christmas “tomorrow” to me either on Christmas Eve. And surely not all Fair Trade advent calendars necessarily mention the “three kings”, even if some do.
Comment added at 21:27, December 26, 2005
Julie B.
You’re in this kind of weird spot where you’re not the audience or the producer of Christmas. Children are the audience, parents are the producers. It’s great to be in either role, but to be in neither sort of leaves you at loose ends around the holidays. At least it always did me.
Comment added at 02:47, January 2, 2006
Matthew
Interesting… there’s an element of truth there, but actually I seemed to be a “producer” this year, giving my older relatives a good Christmas. No children on that side of the family any more. It’s a good point though.
Comment added at 12:03, January 2, 2006
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