Saturday, November 22, 2008

Blogging towards Christmas

I was grumpy the other day and a friend told me I was the grumpy care bear. I hadn't realized there was a grumpy care bear. How wonderful.

And I am grumpy as we look towards Christmas. I checked the calendar, Thanksgiving did not sneak up on me and pass me by as I slept. It is still not yet Thanksgiving and, yet, last night, the snowflakes were lit on their poles along Poplar; huge wreaths adorned one mall. I was at Cokesbury before HALLOWEEN and they were decorating, wrapping fake evergreen around the stair railing.

We have lost all sense of proportion. And time. Christmastide is expanding. Soon, it will begin after July 4. It is no wonder people in their Christmas fatigue rip down the decorations on the day after Christmas or even Christmas afternoon heaving a sigh of relief that the season is now over. They are ready to get on with their lives, get back to the real world, be rid of the incessant round of shopping, decorating, partying, sending Christmas cards.

Where have we gone wrong? How did all this happen? Our pilgrim forebearers didn't even celebrate Christmas. It was simply another day of the week.

While some Christians argue that we need to take back Christmas by aggressively greeting everyone, Christian, atheist, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist with "Merry Christmas" at this time of the year, I suggest we need to take back Christmas by avoiding the secular madness and perhaps adopting our puritan ancestors approach. How about some peace and quiet and reflection about what this time really means.

But then, I'm the grumpy care bear.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I feel like giving you one of those shoulder chuck things popular over at will smama's.
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Carl said...

COKESBURY was putting up Christmas decorations before Halloween???? They of all people (a church-supply business) really should know better.

Good post. Thanks.

Mary Beth said...

AAAAAMEN. I'm a grumpy/depressed bear trying to get out of it.