Ralphie, a Fat Man, a Tree, and Some Love.

Christmas has once again come and gone. After months of excitement, the 24 hours of seasonal cheer is now a distant memory. It is amazing how quickly the day truly passes, and how early the anticipation and sales begin. We now dedicate nearly two months to this one day. By the time Christmas comes we are almost sick of it already, merely waiting for a glimpse of “A Christmas Story” and some gifts under the tree. I have officially gotten to the point where I only need 30 seconds of watching little Ralphie to be fulfilled for the day, the other 23 hours and 59 minutes and 30 seconds are merely wasted television space. I am not saying I am sick of “A Christmas Story,” it is just that through this one glimpse all the years of watching comes back. Even without the 30 seconds I could have envisioned enough to be satisfied, but it felt as though it would have been sacreligious not to glimpse a mere moment of the day long tribute.

Christmas is made of traditions and routines; which within my family includes regulated films, a Chinese dinner Christmas Eve, a surplus of stocking candy no matter my age, and now a meal at my sister-in-law’s parents’ house. What it does not include is any trip to a church or religious related event. I feel as though this is fairly common for most families. How much is religion involved with the holiday in present day? For a day that is dedicated to Jesus, I find it more enfused with Ralphie and Santa.

I can guarantee that within my life I have prayed to and loved Santa more than I have ever thought to do for Jesus. Is it even fair to present kids with the image of a jolly fat man who is willing to give them whatever they want, and not expect them to relate more to him than sad dead Jesus upon his crucifix? Santa Claus was created by writers and artists who ingeniously turned a normal Saint, into the safest and friendliest image imaginable. Without Santa Claus how would Christmas be sold to the masses? Can you imagine a dressed up bleeding Jesus in a shopping mall? I’m sure the children would not be as cordial to the opportunity of sitting on Jesus’ lap (that is, if he could actually sit down with that darn cross nailed to him). All in all I believe Santa was the good marketing move, and is a perfect false god for the masses. Although, I could have sworn it to be a sin to idol false gods…oh, well.

What is the deal with Christmas trees? I must admit that it has taken me 25 years to question what justifies killing and placing a tree in your house for one day’s worth of present coverage. I would never deny the beauty, the wonderful smell, and magical feel of having a freaking tree within your own house…but really, what is the relevance? I shall allow myself to scour the internet for a second and see if I may be informed, as to allow this blog to be an informational forum for at least a mere moment. From what I have gathered, the evergreen had Roman symbolism tied to everlasting life and which warranted decorations at a minimal level. For some reason though the next step came in Germany in the 16th Century, when as it is explained they decided to bring the trees into their homes. I did not skip anything in the description in that previous sentence, there truly is no explaining of why. It does say though that the lights in the trees seemed to be started by Martin Luther, to be symbollic of the stars in the night sky. Luther started his tree decorations with candles stringed together within the combustible brush, which inevitably led to at least a few house fires. As the trees came to America through German immigrants, it was seen as a sacreligious Pagan addition. All in all America did not approve of the trees and for the most part of decorations and observance of Christmas outside of the church. Oh, how times have changed.

We now compete for the most elaborate and gratuitous display of Christmas “pride.” Yards are engulfed by six foot tall snow globes, life size Santa Claus and reindeer figurines, and lights that can be seen from outside of our atmosphere. We have become so caught up with our Christmas rituals and public displays, allowing ourselves to binge on the materialistic routines I hope we have remembered the best of the holiday…coming together with family. All holidays are truly just an excuse to take time out of our busy lives and appreciate the family and friends we have been blessed with. The trees, the fat man, the decorations are all just excuses to call this day different from the rest. The joy of Christmas is available to us at all times, as time can always be dedicated to our loved ones. We may not be able to switch to TBS and be guaranteed an image of Ralphie with his Red Ryder BB gun, but as corny as it sounds we always have eachother.

-B