My Reason for the Season

A small departure from my "I Disbelieve" series (which, I assure you, is going to see part 3 soon).

During the Christmas season there's a lot of propaganda floating about the web, and cluttering the city streets.  People are trying to plug their tried and worn traditional values: Christmas should be about Jesus, Jesus is the reason for the season, Take the 'X' out of Christmas, Take back Christmas, blah-dee-blah-dee-blah...

We're not that far removed from our senses that we can't simply enjoy the holidays, are we?  I suppose I'm not supposed to use that word, either: holiday.  Doesn't matter that its Christian derivation equals 'holy day,' so the faith-heads can take it easy.  And for the pre-Christian in all of us, the use of 'holly' made for a smooth transition to 'holly day' or 'holiday' and everyone was happy.  Go light another yule log, or something.

In any case, why the drive to politicize a tradition?  What is the use of lobbying the government for terminological changes to a clump of days on a calendar?  Why create a controversy just for something to fight over?

It's nonsense.  Go and tell people you love them.  Go and hug an atheist, a Christian, a Muslim, a homosexual, an anyone who fits the self-evident category of human being and enjoy their company.  Celebrate whatever you'd like during this intermission from workaday life, just celebrate.  Celebrate something you find special, just don't assume that I do, too.  But if on the off-chance we do find it mutually special, well that's just all the more reason to share a few drinks, pass a couple of presents about, and laugh a little more.

And that's all this silly season really needs to make it a good one: laughter, celebration, basic human dignity, and a nice glass of wine (unless you're of the teetotaling variety, in which case I'll drink yours for you).