tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17411202.post6198514089123888391..comments2023-08-22T05:14:38.745-05:00Comments on reaching for the light: Christmas SpiritUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17411202.post-86953584087982248392009-12-30T16:43:15.297-06:002009-12-30T16:43:15.297-06:00Pam, I like this a lot - and am happy to see you b...Pam, I like this a lot - and am happy to see you blogging again! I managed to cut WAY down on the buying/getting frenzy, but kind of missed messing with bright wrapping paper. I think I'll try finding small odd things over the year (and of course the FNVW crafts) and allow myself to enjoy wrapping them and giving them. And I totally agree about the spark of happiness the holiday lights can bring - so, let's call it Solstice or whatever, just keep on with some lights in these dark days. (And may YOUR days to come be bright!)Mary Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06476814211173076515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17411202.post-41026933284930804382009-12-29T09:48:03.357-06:002009-12-29T09:48:03.357-06:00All children are present-focused at Christmas. On...<i>All</i> children are present-focused at Christmas. On the other hand, people make far too much fuss over the kids and gifts thing. Unless the children in question are spoiled beyond all reason, most kids are not going to notice that much if their parents pare down the gifts. How many of us remember every single thing we ever received for Christmas, anyway? We don't. We remember a few favorites, but not the whole kaboodle. (And if somebody <i>does</i> remember everything they ever got, chances are they didn't get that many gifts and are exempted from Over-Gifting Syndrome, anyway.)<br /><br />The things I remember about Christmas were making gingerbread houses, sledding (when we lived in Colorado), building models or Legos with my parents, etc. All of that, I think, is in the Christmas spirit, and none of it requires that one be Christian. We never traveled at Christmas, and we never set up gift-giving expectations with a large circle of friends, so there was never a lot of pressure. There was nothing about Christmas to dislike. Yeah, my Baptist neighbors insist it has to be all about Christ. Whatever. I bring them gingerbread cookies and talk about something else.<br /><br />And of course you know this, but most of the trappings of Christmas as we celebrate it are pagan, anyway, and we've got the date wrong (because it's also pagan, in an early-Christian attempt to convert pagans. I totally think the pagans got the last laugh on most Christian holidays).<br /><br />I have mixed feelings about commercialism/materialism and the people who oppose it. I definitely think Christmas is oversold, and that it needs to be dialed down quite a bit, from a purchasing point of view. I can definitely understand why people get overwhelmed and turned-off. On the other hand, I think that it's grinchy and party-pooper-ish to insist that it's a purely commercial holiday and refuse to see, or seek, joy in it. It seems like a lot of people are good at hating Christmas and complaining about it, but then what are they doing to reclaim it for themselves? (Or, at least, they are welcome not to like it, but please don't spoil it for the rest of us.)<br /><br />There isn't any law that says you <i>must</i> overspend and buy presents for everyone you've ever known. Finding the perfect gifts for my immediate family and few closest friends--and I have an eye out for gifts all year long--is like a game, and finding something that is so <i>them</i> is a big thrill. The point isn't the item so much as how right it is, and that they will (hopefully) find it beautiful or useful or amusing.Little Black Carhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313164876855565140noreply@blogger.com