ChapterZero

Of course I’m going to make a Christmas related post! And there is so much too:

First, everyone in my family goes to church on Saturday (they’re Seventh-day Adventists) but me, usually. My weekly clock used to be set by the fact that church occurred on Saturday: bitter anxiousness on a Friday afternoon, that Church is tomorrow, and I need to prepare— memorize memory verses, learn a poem for the afternoon program, read part of the Bible— resentment that I couldn’t watch tv from Friday sunset until Saturday sunset, then Saturday itself, wasted dressed up and in church, being various preached at, excluded by those my age, and asleep. Saturday and Sunday were then a benison— Saturday was tv night from sunset until I felt too sleepy to continue, about midnight, eagerly looked forward to; Sunday was at first free day (except when the church equivalent of Boy & Girl Scouts had a meeting), then in high school and college work day, when I could catch up on homework.

The point is, Saturday was the day that marked the end of one week for me, and the beginning of another. I marked the progression of time using Saturday as the milepost. Now, since I don’t go to church any longer, I have no milepost, and the weeks blend into one another. I became fully conscious of that fact today— I think I internalized it a while ago— because Christmas has disrupted my entire family’s routine to the point where it is hard for me to keep in mind that I still can’t turn on the tv after dinner because it is Saturday. Probably it’s harder to mind myself because everyone stayed home today, which is rare for Saturdays.

Second, there was a local news segment on how the Christmas season is losing its rason d’ etre because it is becoming so PC. People said “Merry Christmas”, then “Merry X-mas”, then “Happy holidays”; now one can’t even settle for saying “Happy Hannukah” and “Merry Christmas”, or even including “Enjoy Kwanza”, but must give completely generic holiday salutations in order to avoid a negative perception. I agree. This is a symptom, and not the only one, that the world has lost sight of the spirit and meaning of Christmas; now it has degenerated to a purely commerical enterprise. Thanksgiving is more like Christmas than Christmas.

About thewhole gift giving concept. I think the whole thing is a ploy to get people to spend their cash and overload their charge cards. There are better ways to let people know how much they mean to you than to buy them gifts. Besides, who needs all the anxiety and debt? I sure don’t.