Christmas has lost its way. There I said it. That's not to say all is lost, you must look at the whole celebration and how you view it. If you strip Christmas back it's supposed to be about gathering with those important to you. It's about the feast. It's about family.
So what happened? I'm no historian but somewhere along the way big business got hold of it. So now it's about the gifts. We are bombarded by media from August encouraging us to spend money we can't really afford on bigger and more expensive gifts. For me this is missing the point.
Christmas as we know it is quite modern. Most of the traditions we uphold are imported back from America, the settlers took many different European traditions and mashed them up before we readopted them as the festival moved away from the religious origins.
But the origins go back further with the ancient Pagan festival of Yule which dates so far back it's difficult to trace. What it is though is a feast to celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the passing of the dark nights. For me I think the feast is central to the celebration. We still say "eat, drink and be merry" and that indeed is what we should do.
So far, for me I've celebrated with friends and done way too much dreaded shopping. We are almost ready for the feast with meats, veg and treats filling the cupboards (although there is "nothing to eat" since all the food is for Christmas). The Yuletide season wouldn't be complete without beer and I have loads... but not as much as Morticia has wine.
Also we mustn't forget those that don't have anyone or can't afford to put on a feast. We, as a family, donated food to the local food bank. I also visited a project which provides hot meals for the poor, lonely and socially isolated - I sat and had food with them before making a donation to this wonderful cause.
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| My Christmas Dinner |
Enjoy your festivities but don't loose sight of what it's about. It's not the gifts but the company you choose to keep. Cheers!
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