I am kind of in a slump again with my blog posting. I realise I'm on and off. At times I would be hyper-posting and now, I'm hypo-posting. I can provide a myriad of excuses..umm....I mean, reasons, but what's the point?
Anyways, Christmas morning is hours from now. This will be my 20th Christmas I've spent on this Earth. The snow is falling and it looks like we will see the aesthetic Christmas has been associated with all over the world; a white Christmas. It looks so pure and serene. Sadly, not all parts of the world experience this joy and I'm not just talking about the snow. We're days away from New Years, where we will be entering a new decade. It's quite exciting.
So I, and I am certain most of you as well, greet people with the very general and secular "Happy Holidays!" greeting. I'm not gonna try to argue why either one should be socially acceptable. In many parts of the world, Merry Christmas is the best and should be the only greeting and in others, specifically the west, put this significant day in an awkward and shameful place. A place full of money and business. In short, Christmas has become materialistic. It has been stripped of its value and turned into a holiday circus fest, where people dress themselves with white beards, where people give presents and expect something in return. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the whole present-giving thing, generosity and gratitude are excellent virtues, but they stop being virtues once you expect something in return or put a monetary value on a gift, rather than putting a greater value from the heart. It sounds cheesy and even cliche, but Christmas is the time of giving. Most of us forget that principle. Many argue, "No I have not, I gave presents." Granted, but think about why you're giving in the first place. Is it to receive a feeling of self-satisfaction? Do you feel obliged to give because of the occasion or because someone has given you a present? Do you feel that you have been "cheated" because you gave a present to someone and did not get one in return? Is a mere thank you and a smile not satisfactory? I certainly realise the power of money and in the present, as it ever was, money is a powerful and persuasive tool that can accomplish many things. But one thing that it cannot accomplish, is a genuine feeling of goodness and purity. A feeling that can make the worse of humans feel good. A feeling that makes you feel like a great human being, even for just once a year. Something that humbles you.
This brings me to my next point. Although Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ, is usually associated with Christianity, there is no reason for other people to be excluded from this celebration. Obviously, thinks like going to mass and church are things other religions cannot share, but Christmas is so much bigger than that. Jesus Christ, if not taken into religious context and looked at as a human being, was one of the greatest men to have ever lived. And even for those who do not believe of his existence and even his divinity, he stands as a symbol. A mere man, born in one of the most humiliating places one can ever be born in, a stable where animals are kept. He went on to preach not just to Jews but also gentiles, having no preference for one type of people; no exclusion what so ever. He brought the word of goodness to everyone and just wished for everyone to do the same. He went on to die on a cross for humanity's sins. Even if some of us do not believe that he did not relieve us of our sins, the idea alone, that a man would die for people he did not know, but cared for, had that courage and had that humility. It's truly outstanding and awe-inspiring and something that ALL religions can take to heart and understand and this is not because he was the Messiah, not because he was the son of man but because he stood for all of these values. This is what celebrating Christmas is about.
I'm not gonna try to hide the fact that I deviate from my faith's teaching's here and there, but knowing all of this compels me, for this day, just for this one day, to do something good. Whether it be for a several people or a person, for my God and myself.
And with that, I wish you all the best. Merry Christmas.
Alan
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