Dealing with Christmas -

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I wish I didn't have to deal with it either. I don't do Christmas shopping any longer. I sent out a few holiday cards. I have a small tree about one foot tall that I keep in a box fully decorated and pull out each year along with a few other meaningful decorations. My wife and I will cook a special dinner Christmas eve and spend a quality evening together. We'll get together with friends on Christmas and then she'll go to work.

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I know what you mean. I spend so much money on people to show them how much I love them and some of them show no appreciation.

Last year we decided enough is enough and we were checking out of the mundane Christmas present-buying mass consumerism extravaganza. We had just received some gifts we clearly didn't want or need, and suspected that some of our gifts were similarly not needed. We'd moved twice in two years and knew we had too much junk. Here we were feeding the junk monster more sacrifices.

It's not even our holiday!

So this year we told everyone that much as we enjoy buying presents for them, we wil focus on birthdays and were checking out of the materialistic consumer Christmas.

This year has been so peaceful and stress free in that regard we are sorry we didn't have the will to do it sooner.

Maybe we will inspire others to chuck it also!

Just say no!

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We haven't a trace of it here. None. Zilch.

Though Rasaraj and Braja are planning to set up a Christmas party for family and friends. But I hope they won't be singing those dreaded silly songs... We suggested Yugal could be Santa, but he wasn't too enthusiastic about yet another identity, he's good with three it seems.

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I came in today and my office mates, who usually have great taste in music, were playing Christmas songs they'd loaded into i-tunes. I couldn't believe it! They were really enjoying it (!) so I didn't say anything. Finally they were out of the room and I scrolled down (they played it on my machine while I was at Urgent Care because I have the best speakers) and found a version that wasn't so bad, the charlie brown christmas album. Instrumental. It was tolerable, without the cheesy vocals of the other songs.

I avoid any stores I don't absolutely have to go to this time of the year. Between the awful music and the garish decorations, it's an assault on the senses. And the stressed out vibes of all the people rushing around or else walking with glazed eyes, desperate to think of a gift idea but overwhelmed. It's like one of those zombie flicks.

What a hellish way to celebrate Christ's birth!

You can think of the great pagan winter festivals of yore, when people worshiped trees and decorated them with lights. As Jesus was most probably born in the spring, Christmas is basically an adapted pagan festival. You feel this still very much in Scandinavia where Midsummer is also an official 3 day holiday, just without presents.

You better watch out Bangli, my child who reads here sometimes has a message for you. "Like a good Scrooge", she says, "he is right on time with the holiday spirit..."

And off I go driving a couple of merry children to school singing all the way: "On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me fiiiiiive golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree."

At least around the Eight Day of Christmas they stop insisting that I sing along.

That is more like it really, sounds much more authentic.

Christians however are generally not interested in their pagan roots or anyone bursting their bubble about all this Santa Reindeer poopla it seems.
I say Christians and their sentimental Holidays they have brainwashed the entire globe with while at the same time being the cause of most wars in the modern era are fair game to take a poke at!

I myself, am not pressured in anyway to celebrate the birth of Jesus really (except buying a present for my kids) and I have to otherwise I would be seen as a scrooge

I mean I dont even celebrate the Birth of Mohammed, Buddha or Lao Tzu for that matter.

Now Sri Krishna Janmastami...you will find me celebrating indeed!

namaskar,

bangli

I hope you don't sing 'Frosty The Snowman'

Luckly my childhood was Snowman free, song included, but Santa Claus, there is no escaping Santa Claus almost anywhere in the globe. Where I grew up stores decorated their windows with pictures of a Santa sporting swimming shorts, sandals and the sleigh was pulled by anteaters. Seriously!

Saint Nicholas has been nothing but dishonered in these presentations, in my opinion. If I am not misinformed, I believe it was the Coca-Cola Company who first designed Santa Claus' red and white suit, for its adds.

Christmas is short for Christmastami.

Seriously, I have a strict gifts for pre pubescent children only policy.
And I am not consistent - some years I give presents, others - well I may not be around. Like I may be up in the brooklet land under Linga Mountain and suchlike.

Once I gave one of my many nieces a gift and quick as a wink her mother hustled up a little gift for me in return. It becomes like some village barter system and I find it offensive. I feel that giving children gifts is an opportunity to give something without expectation of some "payment".

What did the baby Jesus give the three Magi in return for their gifts?
Nothing in a package, I trust.

But I am not. Why would you get sick of Christmas, Bangli? Be enthusiastic!

Take it as kRSmas and have sAdhu-sanga!

That's what I do. Since we all are in holiday spirit at this time of the year, the houses and the trees are all lighted... they all put me in a mood to celebrate. I am having vaiSNava sanga -s in my house and also going to attend many house programs. Also, we will keep ourselves absorbed in singing kIrtan and bhajan, listening to HarikathA in the evening of 31st and continue until dawn to welcome Nava-varSa (2005).

So cheer up everyone and welcome to my place!

That's what my Catholic ex-roommate calls Janmashtami. "Krishna-mas"

What's wrong Bangli? Speechless!

Did I just remind you of something? Have you all forgotten of real Sanga?

Not speeachless at all, I had to run out and buy coffee and cream

Sadhu Sanga for me is not about Christmas and all the commercialism that goes along with it.
Like I said I do not celebrate Buddhas birthday or Mohammed's nor do I try and superimpose Krishna onto those days...

Like saying Mohammedastami or LaoTzu Jayanti..

I love Christmas lights I have to admit....but hate the mushy sentimental poopla Santa, Frosty the Snowman falseness of it all.

I dont think it is a major celebration at Radha Kund either...correct me if I am wrong!

I don't much like Santa either! Telling kids that there is a fat charitable old guy breaking into your house yearly to fill up your house with material posessions... yikes! And then when they find out Santa isn't real, that begs the question, "You lied about Santa! Are you lying about Jesus too?" Geez!...

Lets keep it cool here people, it is a matter of learning how to handle 'transference'. Who does not wish that, when it came to our merits, all our benenfactors actually exercised the habit of checking it twice?

oh come on now....lighten up, just have a go at Santa,

Well, in that vein I guess I could say that red is definitely not my color...

I muttered under my breath "bloody Christmas" day before yesterday. My wife overheard me, unfortunately.

My son's piano teacher gives a Christmas party every year. This is his first year as her student, so it was our first time attending what is an annual tradition at her house. It was quite the occasion, and from many points of view, enjoyable.

After all her students had played their piece (some of them are very good indeed), and after the supper had been consumed, we returned to the living room where Mme Gingras pounded out Christmas carols on the grand piano, and we all sang them from these Eaton's carol cards that must date from the 1960's.

Though I was in a miserable mood for some reason--besides breaking a tooth on the French bread. So I sat in a corner couch throughout, out of sight and sound.

Yesterday when my son went to his usual Monday lesson, his teacher wondered aloud why I had been such a bummer on Sunday. Doesn't he like Christmas? she asked.

I wholeheartedly agree. Christmas became the Day (Month) of Mindless Consuming. People are in a pink cloud, buy everything they can (and what they can't) - they are like what I imagined, when I sat on an ISKCON lecture and heard the word "karmi" - , and in the same time, they are devoid of all patience, they run to and fro like ants.



I also try this since a long time with my mother and sister - with less success . At least I convinced them to use a living tree (with roots) instead of buying it anew year after year, but the final success is still long before us.

I am dealing with Christmas and its ramifications as I would be dealing with a funeral or another observance. I see its emotional and practical implications, but look at them with knowledge and disinterest. Here in Europe where I live it is more a feast of light, with a Christian coloration, and the trial of everyone to turn it into business. I am not doing gifts, but can share the gift of my presence to people who feel lonely at this time, and with whom I can get in touch easily.

Humbug, never liked this Christmas thing where everybody stuffs themselves silly through all the senses, but sometimes the sentiment of good will to all men that is aroused here and there is tolerable

Hey Jagatji, I cut the roof of my mouth on some french bread a few days ago. Something about Christmas and mouth injuries...

Good heavens! What kind of French bread are you people eating - from last Christmas?

For me the bread was from the local supermarket rather than from a bakery, thus it was not at all fresh, and the crust was almost sharp! I don't think the French would even recognize this as bread, and they certainly would not appreciate the adjective "French" being applied to it...

Maybe we should start calling it "Freedom" bread.

Satya, I hope you didn't get some of that supermarket "French Roast" with your bread...

Yeah, freedom alright, freedom from teeth...

PUT AN X ON CHRISTMAS. BUY ONE OF THESE TODAY.

I personally am looking forward to a three day weekend and a chance to get caught up on some much needed sleep - especially since we (those of us in the financial arena) are getting shafted out of any business days off over New Years with the 1st falling on a Saturday and the markets being open on Friday. Weekends are always to short and the work week way too long.

Well sleep is a good thing bapuji...

I hope you snore loudly!

"Thank God I'm an Atheist!"
-Aliester Crowley

Is that an x or a hex?

I don't normally hex people or things but in the case of Christmas I could be persuaded.

Bangli Baba, your picture posts are always full of surprises. I am impressed by your ability to slide past the smoke of a topic and bestow such innocent visual gifts upon us. I anoint you the Santa Baba of GD. Hoe hoe hoe to you.

Make it an ax, please.

Every year I gripe about the pervasiveness of crappy "Christmas" music and the frenzy for consumption. I also hate the traffic. It has often been our excuse to get together with family, which has been good for us.

And if it gets Anand's old man, who I saw last night for the first time in 18 years or so, to come over here for winter surf, I'm all for it!

every christmas (since that first year I started going to the temple and was all grandiose & showed up at my wife's sister's house in full dhoti, tilaka chadder & sikha, spending only 10 minutes humiliating her in front of her whole family, and then leaving her to give explanations and excuses, as I jaunted off to the temple to sing and dance) that I spend doing anything that doesn't remind my wife of my first year of trying to become a devotee, is a succesful merry christmas in this family.

Ah, that's him. Come December he always outsmarts the other jolly old man.

I really like Christmas - yes, even the commercial side of it. I love to see the great hope and expectation of surprise and joy in my children's eyes. I love to watch them rise early to explore around the tree and examine the contents of their stockings. I love to give them presents.

Since my wife is Catholic, I also join in the celebration of Christ with her. It doesn't matter to me what date Christ was born. What matters to me is the symbolism of a God who so loves the world that he gives his only son to it. The symbol of hope and goodness and total sacrifice in the midst of so much moral decay and rampant materialism is heartening to me. I also see so many people genuinely giving of their time and resources in an effort to reach out and help others. We have a food and gift drive for homeless children at my work that always gets plenty of donations. We have a co-worker who is suffering from prostate cancer and the severe side effects of the medications and treatment he has been recieving. There was a collection for him to help him through his tough time becuase he has been forced to work part time due to his health issues.

My son's best friends parents just purchased a coffee truck and are starting their own business with it. They plan to go to the local homeless center on Christmas and serve out free drinks and distribute cookies and muffins for free. My family is baking for the event and we plan to join them in this act of kindness.

I mention all this because, as is the case with most anything, there are two sides to this story. Even though Christianity is not my own personal tradition and the theology in general doesn't captivate me or motivate me I do appreciate the tradition and those who follow it. As with most traditions, those who are deeply immersed in it and have had their very lives transformed by it are very rare - but that the tradition speaks about transformation, self sacrifice and genuine spiritual meaning I think is accepted by most people.

Even though some may find the commericalism overwhelming and the songs and pagentry a bit over done, still I think even those people have to acknowledge that the very idea of gift giving cannot be seperated from the incarnation of Christ and the symbolic gift from God he represents as well as the opportunity to give gifts (up to our very selves) to him. It is Jesus Christ, afterall, that is the central figure in Christianity and it is through him (God in the flesh) that Christians are enabled to establish their relationship to God.

Couldn't resist...

Are we getting sentimental here?

a Christmas story from the...

NORTHERN ORANGE XTRA

INMATES SHARE TRUE SPIRIT OF HOLIDAY SEASON
by Jonathan E. Coleman

The room was decorated with tinsel garland. A tree in the corner sparkled with lights, ribbon and ornaments. It was a holiday meal like so many others – except that it was at the Orange County Correctional Facility. The 12 inmates that make up the facility’s Service Club hosted their annual holiday banquet, the culmination of a year’s worth of service work. At the event, the Service Club presented toys to needy children.

“The name ‘service club’ well represents what it’s all about.” Said Mike Thumm, superintendent o the correctional facility. “This is service. This is giving back to others ahead of yourself. It’s not only what the season is about, but also what the club is about.”

Throughout the year the group undertakes various fundraising activities to raise money to serve others. They collect aluminum cans and sell concessions during visitations to raise the money that is then given to appropriate causes. It is a commitment that none of the club members take lightly, said Paul Ladd, who has served as the club president for the past three years. “Each and every guy in this club is committed,” he said. “They could be in their bed or playing basketball, but they are working hard to do good for others.”

In addition to buying presents for needy children, the money has also been used for sending children to camp. The group recently bought a wheelchair for an 18-year-old paralyzed in a car accident. The inmates admit that it’s not always easy raising the money, but the work is well worth the smiles and joy that they see when they give back. “It’s the end result that we’re looking for,” said inmate Melvin Rose. “That’s when we get our reward – after someone has benefited from what we’ve done. While you’re doing it, it might seem mundane, but seeing someone benefit from it really makes you feel good.”

At the banquet, the inmates were rewarded for their efforts with a meal that they shared with family and friends. It is the only time during the year that inmates are allowed to eat with their families, aid Sandy Albright Burwell, the Service Club’s coordinator. “This is as close as these guys get to spending Christmas with their families. It is the reward for all of their hard work throughout the year.”

I like to watch different versions of "A Christmas Carol", my favorite so far being the one with Patrick Stewart...

oh, and what Christmas would be complete without watching "A Christmas Story" with little Peter Billingsly...."You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"

This is about alls I can stands, really....

What gets me is that the only time my in-laws will get up at 4:30am to do anything is once a year, the day after Thanksgiving, so she can hit the stores that open early and be the first to buy Tickle Me Elmo or the next Johnny-come-lately of "gotta have its".