open thread commentary-happy contrived holidays

not to beat a dead horse- but we have been discussing the holiday season quite a bit lately- and while i don't want to dampen anyone's spirits or feelings of frivolity- i think that there is something that you should recognize: not everyone enjoys the season. contrary to the american 'norman rockwell' set- not everyone in this country enjoys the hustle and bustle of getting hassled at the mall. indeed, internet sales are up this year. not everyone looks forward to christmas with joy and enthusiasm- for a variety of reasons. in fact, there are so many folks out there who are depressed and hurting, many churches hold 'blue christmas services.'

we all know the ' history' of christmas. the whole supposed birthday of jesus christ- that just so happens to coincide with the pagan rituals for the winter solstice- but hey, those early christians wanted to be inclusive. my thought is this- we have had christmas celebrations for a few thousand years now- and we have had organized religions around longer than that. peace and love for our fellow man are supposed to be the over riding precepts for these religions- and what have we had to show for it? hmmmm..... since ancient times jews, muslims, and christians have fought for power and control. in modern times- hmmmm.... power and control. we have hindus fighting muslims in india and pakistan. we have muslims fighting jews and christians in the middle east. we have christian leaders in this country calling for the assasination of other countries' leaders and muslim clerics calling for the heads of the christians. you have the jewish leaders marching against homosexuals and killing muslims in the gaza strip and lebanon. ho ho ho. folks if you all can't or won't get it together- i suggest that we go back to celebrating the winter solstice with the pagans.

so, if the reason for the season is peace and light- you folks are lacking. the retail establishment is lacking also because of the constant need to tell you what you need to buy. it has gotten so bad that people are renting storage units to hide gifts because they don't have room in their homes- or they have snoopy family members. the storage unit folks are making a profit. the problem many folks are running into is too much. i mean really- how many clothes, or games, or electronics, or knick knacks do people need? after so much, it's like why bother? my husband and his family have taken to drawing names because everyone is so hard to buy for. they have what they need and what they want and get it throughout the year. i send them all homeade cookies because they don't bake or cook.

so- if the non-inclusive decorations and the retail onslaught do it for you- and you feel happy and joyful- hey- happy holidays. just be mindful that many people don't have a family to share with; have lost a family member; have a loved one in harm's way; are too poor to buy into the whole 'season', are not christian. you can feel the way that you want to feel- just don't be surprised if the person next to you at work or in the store doesn't feel the same way. and- it isn't your right to feel insulted if they don't.