One More Christmas Blog

Maybe there is time for one more Christmas blog entry, so let’s give it a try.

People celebrate Christmas in a number of ways.  Some are very traditional and celebrate the same way every year.  For others, something a bit different each year is their preference.  To some, Christmas is celebrated as a very religious event, and the birth of Jesus is the central tenet of their season.  Others celebrate Christmas as a very secular event.  Most of us, I suspect, are somewhere in the middle on this.  We happily combine the secular and material side with some adherence to the religious meaning.  How it is celebrated is an individual affair for some people or, more probably, a family affair.  

As with most things, there is some controversy around Christmas, particularly its Christian history.  Some question whether there every was a man named Jesus who was an itinerant preacher.  I am convinced that there was such a man and my conviction is bolstered by a near contemporary of Him, a Jewish historical writer named Josephus who wrote about such a man.  Others question the timing of the Christmas story.  We do not have any written testimony of the actual time of year that the birth took place, just as we do not have any evidence of the time of His death on the cross.  That the dates that we now celebrate these events coincide with pagan celebrations, the winter solstice and spring awakening, are undoubtedly true, but there may have been a fairly obvious reason for this in the ancient church.  They may have been celebrated in the dark days when early Christians had to hide their faith because of persecution.  To celebrate their holy days to coincide with other events would have given them cover to remain undiscovered and therefore safe.  

There are many things about Christmas other than midnight church, Christmas dinner, family visits and exchanging gifts.  We hear the plea ‘Peace on Earth’ as part of Christmas greetings although it should be a plea all year round.  But to hear it highlighted at this time is very heartening.  In addition we almost all wish people a Merry Christmas or a Seasons Greetings, even strangers.  The feeling of fellowship that permeates this time of year shows that people really can rise to the occasion and have good feeling toward others.  It’s amazing how a smile and a “Merry Christmas” can make the most harried sales clerk feel better.  Oh that that feeling by all people could last the whole year.  But that it does, in general, happen at this time of year is something else to celebrate. 

And then there is Christmas music.  Oh, I know of the shlock that blares at you in malls and stores, but that should not detract us from the really good music at Christmas.  We have traditional Christmas carols which are best heard with a good choir like Mormon Tabernacle Choir although I always feel that the best rendition of ‘Silent Night’ is by a solo boy soprano (admission – that used to be me when I was young).  There are also some very good popular songs and arrangements.  My favourites include Carly Simon and Willy Nelson’s duet of ‘Pretty Paper’ and Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ duet of ‘Once upon a Christmas’ among many more.  Of course I also like Handel’s “Messiah’.  So when the stress of Christmas gets you down, sit down for half an hour and listen to some soothing Christmas music.

So let us go forward and celebrate Christmas as we each see fit.  To my non-Christian friends I send you Seasons Greetings.  And let’s see if we can extend the good feelings of this season all year round.

Denee and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

More Recent Observations

There seems to be a new Christmas phenomenon these days.  Every Christmas movie it seems must have as its central character a thirty something very attractive woman who is very successful but has a screwed up love life that can only be fixed at Christmas.

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Mr. Trump has once again inflamed the world by declaring that the US will move its embassy to Israel to Jerusalem.  He reminds me of a kid with a box of matches who goes around lighting the matches and throwing them at people and things to see if he can start a fire.

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Jerusalem.  Poor Jerusalem!  Jerusalem is a city that has special meaning for three of the world’s most significant religions.  It is the ancient capital of Israel and home to THE Temple, now only remembered by the west or Wailing Wall.  It is the place where Jesus came to great acclaim, but where he was condemned to die and was crucified.  And it is the place where Mohamed came one night to what became known as the Dome of the Rock.  Throughout its history for the last thousand years it has known the most peace and accommodation when it was rules by Muslims.  But now it is a place of turmoil and division.  In my opinion the only way that Jerusalem could see peace is if it becomes an international city under a United Nations flag, open and welcoming to all.

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"Our focus every game is to hit the quarterback as hard as we can and make him uncomfortable," defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. "I think we did a pretty good job of it."  Is it any wonder that so many quarterbacks get injured? I’m afraid that one of them is going to get really seriously hurt one of these days.

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Don’t you just love cling wrap for storing food.  It becomes particularly useful for Christmas left-overs.  It is almost like Saran-dipity.

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A study that was reported in the news the other day stated that humans may have reached their peak of physical prowess.  It reminded me of another assertion, ‘The sum of the intelligence of the planet is a constant.  The population is growing.’  It would certainly account for some of the things that have been going on in the world.

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I apologize for any puns or bad jokes in this piece.  No, on second thought I don’t apologize, I like what I wrote.

You may see fewer blog entries from me in the next few weeks.  There’s work to do for Christmas (anybody got any suggestions what I could get my wife?).  I addition, I am embarking on writing some short stories, some of which you may see in this blog site in the future.  Until then, Denee and I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (or Hogmanay to the blessed).

Some Recent Observations

A question was recently asked about why discourse, particularly on social media, was becoming progressively angrier. Many ideas were put forward, but I would like to suggest another one . . . demographics.  More people are reaching their senior years, they are retiring and they know how to use a computer and smart phone.  They bring with them the anger, disappointment and prejudices of many years, and now they have an opportunity to vent those feelings on the world.  They also bring a social conservatism and nostalgia for the past.  And they have enough voices to silence those with a more optimistic and liberal outlook.  Just watch how many times phrases such as “liberal elite” and “sheeples” show up.

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I’m no longer comfortable even shaking hands with a woman any more.  The extent of actions and words that can now be construed as sexual harassment has become very fuzzy in the last few months.  Anyone with an eye or an ear knows that sexual innuendo, harassment and assaults have been around for a long time.  So why did the dam burst only when Harvey Weinstein’s accusers came forward?  Some of the allegations against him and many other prominent men go back years.  Why were they not identified years ago when the assaults and exhibitionism were taking place?  Even Bill Cosby’s misdeeds did not unleash this level of disclosures.

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While we are on the topic of sexual misconduct, this seems to be the only type of activity that brands a person as guilty unless proven innocent.  One or two allegations come to the fore and the alleged perpetrator is immediately fired, demeaned and assumed to be guilty with no opportunity to have the matter adjudicated in any forum but the press.  It also leaves open the question of what reasonably can be considered sexual misconduct.  If Bill Cosby is found guilty in court of multiple examples of sexual misconduct, it will be obvious what constitutes serious cases and a crime.  Note that Bill Cosby is the only alleged sexual predator whose case is before the courts.  But what about the other end of the spectrum, assuming that a spectrum of activities is allowed?  As an example let’s take the case of Garrison Keillor who was fired despite the fact that his only apparent action involved touching a woman’s back while trying to console her. And who can forget the case of the Canadian MP a few years ago who was invited into the hotel room of a female MP from another party, was given a condom and was then accused of having uninvited sex.  Is this and even more innocent acts to be taken as the new norm of sexual misconduct?  Is it any wonder that some men, like me, now find it uncomfortable to be around any woman who is not their wife?  Having a wife, daughter, daughters in law and female grandchildren, I certainly do not condone any sort of sexual assault or harassment.  But I do think that men who are accused of such activities deserve the opportunity to have their cases properly heard and adjudicated.

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Is it scary to think that the fate of the world is in the hands of four world leaders?  This is, of course, not the first time that a few presidents and potentates have held such power, but it may be the first time that none of them have been rational.

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I see that Mr. Trump has got a massive tax cut through both houses of Congress.  The major cuts will benefit the rich and big corporations on the premise that goodies will be passed down through the food chain to the average American.  But trickle-down economics did not work for Presidents Reagan, Bush senior or Bush junior and it will not work for Mr. Trump.  Each time it has been tried, the gap between rich and poor has only gotten greater.

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The views expressed in this and other blogs are solely my own, but I welcome feedback, criticism or debate on any of them.  jgf