Monday, November 29, 2004
Monday Night Ramblings
Christmas, Christmastime is here
Time for joy, time for cheer - Alvin and the Chipmunks
What a lovely night as I put up my holiday tree, and decorate it with my holiday ornaments as we begin the pre-holiday season that culiminates with the celebration of the glorious holiday of HOLIDAY. For that is the day we commemorate the birth of Jesus Holiday, the saviour of the retail mall. It is a joyous occasion for us Holidayians, whether we be Roman Holiday or Lutherdays, Presbyrholidayian or Church of Holiday. I can't wait personally for midnight mass on Holiday Eve, when the entire choir gets up to sing "For Unto Us a Holiday is Born."
Okay, okay, I ran the damn joke into the ground, but it is something that merits at least half-serious discussion. Apparently it is okey dokey to commercialize the celebration of birth of our Lord and Saviour, but it is not okay to publicly display anything that memorializes this event beyond some tacky display of Santa Clause and his eight venison, umm, I mean reindeer.
Surely when the Christ child came into this world he came to bring not just redemption of sin but also great Friday-after-Thanksgiving bargains at your local mall. One could go on and on about the terrible dichotomy between the humble birth of Christ as compared with the greed of retail store merchants, and in fact I intend to do just that.
Actually, these merchants are not to blame for capitalizing on, well, capitalism. As millions flock to stores it would be a tad idiotic to pretend it's business as usual. What's more disheartening are the hordes of crowds who will spend more time looking for something to buy than they will in Church during the Advent season. But at least most of them will show up in Church like the hypocrites they all are. Ah yes, nothing is more honorable than the C+E Catholic who makes their twice yearly pilgrimmage to Mass on Christmas day. It is easy to spot them - they are the people who kneel, stand, and sit several seconds after everybody else because they have forgotten all the parts of the Mass. And just like John Kerry, they too will take Holy Communion when they ought not. But I shall judge not so that I am not judged, for certainly I am not without sin.
It is, after all, the Christmas season, and despite the crass commercialization, it remains my favorite time of the year. After all, Advent is nothing if not a time for hope and joyous expectations. There is much to lament in this broken world, but yet there is so much to be thankful for.
So ho, ho, ho. Go out and be merry.
Time for joy, time for cheer - Alvin and the Chipmunks
What a lovely night as I put up my holiday tree, and decorate it with my holiday ornaments as we begin the pre-holiday season that culiminates with the celebration of the glorious holiday of HOLIDAY. For that is the day we commemorate the birth of Jesus Holiday, the saviour of the retail mall. It is a joyous occasion for us Holidayians, whether we be Roman Holiday or Lutherdays, Presbyrholidayian or Church of Holiday. I can't wait personally for midnight mass on Holiday Eve, when the entire choir gets up to sing "For Unto Us a Holiday is Born."
Okay, okay, I ran the damn joke into the ground, but it is something that merits at least half-serious discussion. Apparently it is okey dokey to commercialize the celebration of birth of our Lord and Saviour, but it is not okay to publicly display anything that memorializes this event beyond some tacky display of Santa Clause and his eight venison, umm, I mean reindeer.
Surely when the Christ child came into this world he came to bring not just redemption of sin but also great Friday-after-Thanksgiving bargains at your local mall. One could go on and on about the terrible dichotomy between the humble birth of Christ as compared with the greed of retail store merchants, and in fact I intend to do just that.
Actually, these merchants are not to blame for capitalizing on, well, capitalism. As millions flock to stores it would be a tad idiotic to pretend it's business as usual. What's more disheartening are the hordes of crowds who will spend more time looking for something to buy than they will in Church during the Advent season. But at least most of them will show up in Church like the hypocrites they all are. Ah yes, nothing is more honorable than the C+E Catholic who makes their twice yearly pilgrimmage to Mass on Christmas day. It is easy to spot them - they are the people who kneel, stand, and sit several seconds after everybody else because they have forgotten all the parts of the Mass. And just like John Kerry, they too will take Holy Communion when they ought not. But I shall judge not so that I am not judged, for certainly I am not without sin.
It is, after all, the Christmas season, and despite the crass commercialization, it remains my favorite time of the year. After all, Advent is nothing if not a time for hope and joyous expectations. There is much to lament in this broken world, but yet there is so much to be thankful for.
So ho, ho, ho. Go out and be merry.
# posted by Paul Zummo : 11:36 PM
