Where Are We Today
Pilot Knob RV Resort
Felicity California
My loving wife Pat, has recently been
jokingly teasing me about the Christmas movies that I watch, over and over
again. Even some of my children have joined in. They are not the old classics
like Miracle on 34th Street or White Christmas but the newer ones, what most
will call sappy, mushy chic flicks. They
have also been indicating that I am some kind of "Scrooge", which is somewhat true.
Like some people, I believe that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost.
Maybe it's that mass media we are subjected to day after day, of every retailer
from A - Z, whether it's cars, clothes, kitchen sinks to...., you get the
picture, vying for your dollars. Media that is directed to the youngest child
that can understand to the oldest adult.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not
against gift giving, I am against giving gifts that are geared to designer and
most expensive got to have gifts. I guess that's today's world, that is what I see
anyways.
As a kid, growing up in the 50's and
60's, there wasn't the mass media of today. The Sears Christmas catalog would
arrive and I remember my two younger sisters and I going thru it and marking
the items that we would like, but that didn't mean we were going to get it. This
was a time when you got a toy or two and then new clothes that you needed.
My parents were middle class, my dad
a maintenance worker in a factory, my mom, a homemaker and a seamstress who made
clothes and did alterations for us and others,
in her basement sewing room that our dad made for her. We lived in a
house and we were a one car family. When I think about it in today's terms, I
don't know how they did it, mortgage, food, clothes, utilities and all the rest
that goes along with raising a family.
Christmas would come, the tree would
be decorated, first by my dad putting it up and then putting on the lights,
then mom and us kids would put on the rest of the decorations. Presents would
appear as time grew near and apprehension would build. Gifts under the tree at
this point wouldn't be for us, but for friends and family. Gifts that meant
something, not extravagant, but practicable. Christmas eve would come and no
matter the weather, mom and dad would bundle us up and in the car we would go
delivering those gifts to those they were intended for. Back home and to bed or
Santa wouldn't come was the way of the night.
Now Christmas morning had its own
tradition, us kids were allowed to get up and go find our stockings, but we
could not look at the presents. When mom and dad got up, breakfast was had and
dishes done, beds made, we were washed and dressed and not until our dad was
ready, did we go to the tree. Dad would sit and hand out our gifts one by one
as we watched each other open our gifts, then they were placed back in the
package with the gift tag so we could remember who gave them to us and show
them to those that came to visit that day.
As an adult, when you marry, you try
and hang on to those traditions and incorporate your spouse's traditions into
your family. Gift giving then expanded
to your extended family, where there got to be so many that it was
impracticable to buy for everyone so, names were drawn and you bought for that
person, usually someone that you saw once a year and didn't know. A small dollar
value was set to make it even for all, to me that was not the meaning of
Christmas. After a few years, I declined to take part and would disappear when
the time came to exchange gifts. Call me a scrooge.
Giving should be from the heart and
to who you want to give, not who you have to give to.
This year, being so far away from
family, we have said that we are not exchanging gifts. What we want is to be
able to connect with them via a video call or phone on Christmas Day, we will
do everything we can to make this happen. Next year we may do something
different.
So, back to the movies, yes they are
all of what I said about them, but to me they all talk about the spirit of
Christmas not he gift giving, so I guess that's why I watch them over and over.
Remember why we celebrate Christmas
in the first place. Gifts were given to a baby with no expectation of receiving
one in return. Santa Clause and all that followed came as civilization tried to
carry on the idea of gift giving.
Somewhere in all of this, I became
some kind of scrooge, who by the way does like Christmas, I just don't show it
that much. Sometimes I think that I should go lock myself in a room around the
first of December and stay there until Christmas is over. That won't happen
though. It is difficult, when Pat who really knows what it is all about, gets
excited and can't wait to decorated our home.
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| Pat's decorating |
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| This one too |
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| My contribution outside |
I don't believe in this political
correctness nonsense, so I will not say Happy Holidays, but I will say, MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Please remember the true meaning of
Christmas and thanks for following along. Until the next time, take care and be
safe.
