Christmas

With less than three weeks until Christmas it is time to tackle this sensitive subject. I have recently pondered the merits and usefulness of such a holiday. Before you label me a scrooge, take a second and ponder along with me.

As a non religious American, I feel out of place during the Christmas season. I refrain from calling the holiday season for several reasons. First, Thanksgiving get wrapped into that package and I have no beef with that holiday; literally, since transitioning to an all natural raw diet. Moreover, eating is one of my favorite pastimes. Second, I have never actively participated in Hanukah or Kwanza. So let’s be honest with ourselves, the American holiday season is really just about Christmas.

Christmas is most notably defined by several succinct details. The colors red and green, Christmas trees pop up in parking lots, crowds at the major retailers, and Christmas music that is almost omnipresent. I believe this is what many deem the recipe for holiday cheer. And now I want to call each ingredient into question.

A two color scheme has proven effective in many celebratory sectors. Possibly the most notorious is school and team colors. When you want to support a cause you do it with the right colors. So it makes sense that Christmas was assigned two colors so that people could easily show their support. Of the many aspects surrounding Christmas, the colors are not religious, they do not discriminate, and they are not part of a corporate marketing schemes. They are simple and they are symbolic, but why red and green? Green is a likely choice for implementation of trees maybe but why red? It works so I will just leave red alone for now.

Moving on, consider the truckloads of cut pine trees shipped across this great land. I find it interesting that the core symbol of Christmas within the confines of a home is a well decorated tree. Even more peculiar is the way these trees make it to your home. Step one, trees are cut and wrap, likely by poor immigrant workers, and then shipped via gas guzzling trucks in a mad dash to disperse trees across the country starting on Thanksgiving. The next step places the trees on corners and blacktop lots of all types. I find this step of most peculiarity.

It was just last year that I was in on the prowl for a tree. It was the first week of December. I did not have to drive more than a half mile from my home before I found half a dozen corner lot tree mongers. These are people of an interesting breed. Sure I have to give a pass to the Boy Scout groups selling trees, but in general the crowd is not so noble. In fact, I arrived at a lot that met my expectations. The man, who sold me a tree, was a bit rough. He appeared from a worn travel trailer of that seem impossible small for a man of his height, around 6’ 2” to sleep in comfortably. There a small TV with a fuzzy signal on in the background and a girlfriend, I suspect, wrapped in a blanket. For four weeks this was his life. He ate, slept, protected, and sold trees for 4 weeks of his life on this corner lot. This seems like a fascinating way of life, albeit unsustainable.

So now that I had purchased what was a low priced worthy looking specimen, it was time to get it home. Saying goodbye to the bearded pine monger, who seemed like the carnival attendant drifter type, I proceeded to embrace the miracle that is twine. I was attaching an entire tree to the roof of my car. This one act has become an American institution over the years. Movies glorify it and police defer action when even the most loosely attached trees threaten to find their way to concrete or other objects. This is something I have tested in the past. This year, I was bound to keep the tree on the rough however.

Arriving home, the last stages commence. I fought the tree, which was too wide for the door into the house only to realize that it was also too tall. With some help, we wrestled the tree and I gave it a fresh but undeniably rough and uneven cut with a handsaw. Remind me again why this is such a fun event. You should be familiar with the rest. Ornaments are placed along with lights garland and other memorabilia onto the crisp needle covered branches of the tree.

This exercise in holiday cheer seems trivial and destructive. I find this practice of useless tree cutting wasteful and of bad taste. I do recognize that this strong symbol of Christmas will not soon be overthrown. It just saddens me. A tree with shiny objects does not define a person, or the spirit which abounds within it. To some they see the birth of a holiday when the tree goes up; I see the death of a tree. Moreover, I see a fire hazard a financial cost a hassle. Let us not overlook the fake trees which have become so realistic in recent years. I see little harm in placing these trees in ones own home.

Moving from the home to the broader community level, we run into Christmas music, bell ringers and long lines. In the past I would have found much of this off putting, but not this year to the same degree. I have restructured my life to avoid most major retail outlets. In doing so, I have also evaded the lines and the incessant bell ringers. I have not escaped the holiday music, nor have I tried to. I enjoy music greatly and can find a special spot for holiday music once a year. Much of it has catchy lyrics that enchant me to sing. See, I am not critical of every aspect of this holiday which has been less than spectacular in the past.
This year may prove to be different for many reasons. This year I feel little pressure to buy gifts which has dampened my own holiday spirit. That is the product of changing relationship status mostly. It is amazing how things change when you stop revolving around material and retail ideals. There wills till be a few retail trips yet to come, and altogether the pressure is not lifted. I feel that I must purchase gifts for some. And that is the root of the problem.

When did Christmas lose its charm? It used to be about food, decoration, and family. Now it’s about spending money and getting material possessions. The human element is being stripped. And, what about Jesus? Wasn’t that the whole point? I honestly despise the aggravated Christians who push for more Jesus in my Christmas. They lost. Christmas is an American corporate institution now. Game over. It is about stuff not people. That is why a am not so merry this Christmas.