I’m just going to sit back here and spill some of my thoughts on you.
For the record I have done my Christmas shopping and have even sent out seven packages and 36 Christmas cards through out the world to friends and family.
So now I am sitting here absorbing what I have done and why I did it.
Now, I know why I did it but I will save that for the end of this post.
I’m going to park my smart-ass mouth and talk about Christmas.
We all know what Christmas was; it was the celebration of the birth of Christ, the Son of God.
Three wise men followed that star to a manger in Bethlehem where they presented the baby with gifts.
So goes the story.
This was the very first Christmas.
I know some of you noticed the “was” because what was then, is not today.
What is it today, 2007 years later?
What has it evolved into since those three wise men knelt at the foot of that small child two millennia ago?
After my numerous expeditions into the wild and retarded shopping madness that has enveloped the malls, sidewalks and PARKING LOTS, I have come to the conclusion that those three wise men were in fact the first traveling salesmen giving out free samples and AND that they are the ancestors of Macy’s, Wal-Mart and Sears.
People are out there spending heaps of money on gifts in the name of Christmas to give to their families and friends.
I would really like to know what this has to do with the baby Jesus being born?
If we were to sit here and logically think about this, wouldn’t we be giving gifts to newborns on Christmas day instead of EVERYONE we know?
Somewhere some place all of this has gotten really distorted and way off base.
NON-Christians are buying Christmas gifts now, how fucked is that or is it?
You want to laugh; this is what just came into my head.
I don’t know if the people I sent packages and cards to are Christian or not.
I don’t care.
In fact I didn’t send them to these people because of the birth of Christ but because I care about these people and hope what little I sent them might make them happy.
I think that enterprise and greed has mov ed us away from what this holiday is supposed to represent and that’s the birth of Christ and not if you’re going to get a P3 console for a gift.
Now I always thought that the concept of the three wise men was that these three strangers came and gave gifts to someone they didn’t know, a stranger just because it made them feel good in their souls.
Are you giving a stranger a gift for Christmas?
I have a friend who raised their kids to respect what they got and be happy with what they received.
Every year on Christmas Eve, they had their boys pick out one of their gifts from the pile under the tree and take it to the Boys/Girls club and donate it for those who didn’t have as much.
I think that is the closest to the original Christmas I have ever seen.
Their kids are now grown and have families of their own and every Christmas Eve they take their kids to the Boy/Girls club so their kids could drop off one of their gifts.
Imagine this.
A Christmas without the gifts
No Christmas trees
No lights flashing
We just go to church and mark the birth of Christ and then go home and be thankful for what you have and the blessings that have been bestowed upon you for what you do have.
How would that suit you and your kids?
The department stores would have a fit.
Giving gifts has nothing to do with the birth of Christ but it does have ties to Christmas through Saint Nick aka Santa Clause and a few other aliases he is known by throughout the world.
A monk who used to give gifts on Christmas that caught on and exploited over the years to what we have today.
I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad with this post because I am just like the rest of you; this is what I have become also.
When I was a kid we used to go to Christmas mass and it was standing room only.
The church would be filled all the way out into the street with thousands of people.
Today they would be lucky to get 500.
After church we would come home and have a small meal then open gifts.
My brother and I used to have a great time and we could stay up until 2 am.
That slowly started to slow down in time and now……….we don’t go.
I enjoy giving gifts to people because I feel good about it and I don’t need Christmas to do it.
I love Christmas because of the memories from the past.
I love Christmas because of the lights and the glitter
The Christmas songs give me joy and the happy faces is what sheds the light on any gloom I may have.
I don’t want Christmas to end but I would like to see its true meaning rather than what the department stores want us to believe.
You can’t buy your way to heaven but you might be able to prevent someone from getting there before their time.
So if you see a food bin for the food bank at your local grocery store, drop in can of something for someone else.
Have a nice day
Walker
Manila, Philippines January 2015
9 years ago
Posts
21 comments:
In 2002 I had the Christmas with no tree, lights or presents. The worst part I took two boys with me on that journey. The week before Christmas my car broke down and it took every dime I had to fix it. I got free tickets to take them out to eat and we made a big time of it. That was our Christmas that year.
I did learn a lot from that Christmas. Santa Claus sometimes brings you gifts that can't be wrapped.
Be safe...
Back in my country, not everyone was lucky enough to celebrate christmas, to have tree, to go shooping...it was different and I missed it.
My family and other families used to get together and cooked a big meal, go to mass, have a big dinner ready to go to every house that did not have something to celebrate with...we prayed and we give thanks (we do not celebrate thanksgiving over there)...
and the gifts were only given to the children...but not the 25th...but January the 6th!
Be well!
:)
amen!!
Hey! You are talking bout Christmas with out gifts; with out lights; with out songs, with out cakes and with out glitters?
You must be kidding buddy!
I had most of my Christmases in odd places…in the middle of the ocean; in the sand dunes of Sahara; in central Africa in a small hut which was not even enough for a child to survive, in a tent in deep in Saudi Arabia and even once on a hot air balloon stuck on a tall tree top.
I had no lights, no gifts and no songs.
You are grinning … Yep; I am jac of all trades.
Merry Christmas !!
We have had a christmas with nothing. The our church came on cristmas day and gave us the tree that had been up front all decorated. They gave us food which was most wonderful when we hadnt eaten more than mac and cheese for over 4 months. and they gave our kids toys. Now thats where they had gone too far. Why because the toys they brought were all broken ones. Our kids were very hurt. I tried to explain to them why toys werent important that it was the thought that counted but to them it was we recieved all their trash. We face a bad christmas again this year. We are putting up a few decorations outside( not all we have cause it take money to light them all) and 1 tree inside with one maybe 2 strands of lights. And we will unplugged them each night early. (save our pennies) Its a long story of why and how we got to this point but Im not going to bore you with it. I know our daughter has applied for toys for tots hoping the boys will get something under the tree.
I've come to the point where I see Christmas as two seperate holidays, celebrated at the same time. One deeply religious and the other very secular. This works for me.
Hi Walker, I kind of favor the answer that apple gave, even though I am a confirmed PC user, it seems we have become more and more caught up in the commercial side of Christmas over the last say 20 years.
It would be sad to lose all the glitter and fan-fare that makes Christmas an exciting time, especially for children, but rightly so it is also a reflective time too.
Christmas used to be a big deal with my ex-boyfriend L. He had a big family and we went for all the major hoidays. But the gift giving part was kind of tacky and pointless a lot of the time.
You know how the stores convince bewildered and exhausted shoppers to purchase the most bizarrely useless gifts ever created? I turned on one of the home shopping networks and they were hawking stuff like 9-piece corkscrew sets. These are the kind of gifts that get re-gifted or stashed in the back of the closet. What's the point, really?
All the same, there is that magic quality to it all. It gives you a chance to feel like a child again--that excitement and anticipation, the pretty wrapped gifts under the tree. A mixed bag.
Happy holidays, merry Christmas to you Walker!
My kids asked me once why we give gifts to each other when its Jesus' birthday. I told them that a disciple once asked Jesus what he wanted us to do. Jesus said first, love God with all your heart, then love each other. So to fulfill his wishes, we show our love for each other by giving gifts and helping people who need it, in honor of his birthday.
Wow! I can't believe I can actually leave a message now!
Anyway, all I can say about what your wrote is...Amen.
Merry Christmas Walker and the happiest of New Year.
Lora_3: I think its the company not the where or what you have.
See how you remember that day.
A memory of you and your boys.
Suri: It was the same way at my place as a kid. All my uncles with their families would show up and it was a big party.
Lime: Thanx :)
Jac: Yes you are Jac and you know the location is not relavent. Its all about people buddy.
Gab: This is a tough time of year for those you have it hard most days.
I have known lean times but my family pitched in and help me out.
I hope you have a good Christmas just the same.You do have something I wont have so I think you are very lucky.
apple: Thats the way it should be I guess.
Enjoy all aspects of the season for the proper reasons
Peter: Yes I like Apple's response to. It puts it in perspective as it should be.
Skye: I think the more you look and shop go8ing frantic looking for the right thiung takes alot of the pleasure out.
Then there are the lists.
Why are there lists?
We should be giving what we want to give.
It woiuld be more of a surprise than giveing something that would be expected
Elvira: Christmas has shown me many faces in the past and I know it has a few more it will produce before the big sleep reachs me.
The spirit is in the people you are with I have found.
Its hard to explain but with me when I am with a crowd of friends then all is well and fun.
Miss Cellania : OH I like that and a very good reason to give out gifts.
I think how you teach your kids how to accept things at an early age they will grow and respect those same values
Chaotic Serenity : Yay, I know you have been having problems and couldn't understand why but glad to have you back :)
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