Wonderful Christmastime?
Really?
Yes, it is now Christmas Eve morning, but however we wrap it up and dress it up, this year’s Christmas is much like this year’s Hanukkah …
Kinda blah, wouldn’t you day?
The majesty of the holiday is still there, and no pandemic is going to change that.
But the verve, the fun, the life of the holiday has been taken right out of it by this scourge we are fighting.
I have to tell you, even when I lit the holiday menorah lights for Hanukkah this year, I was putting a good face on everything, but let’s face it, this year’s celebrations are unlike anything we have ever witnessed.
These are holidays of joy, holidays of peace, and holidays of family, but this year’s holidays are really none of that.
We have no joy because our world is a mess.
We have no peace because we are fighting the very thing taking the joy out of these holidays, and that is the pandemic.
And as far as family, we have been told time and time again to not visit anyone this year, not to travel, not to go anywhere, whether it is to family or friends.
So while the majesty of Christmas is there, the joy isn’t.
But again, I am an outsider looking in, and perhaps we can all make our holidays the best they can be, and we will just have to leave it at that for this year.
Here is what I wrote about Christmas just a few years ago, in Rant #2,049, dated December 22, 2017:
“This is a wonderful time of the year.
First we had Hanukkah, and now we have Christmas, with New Year's just a few days away.
And yes, Kwanzaa is on December 26, which just happens to be my sister's birthday.
I won't tell you how old she is, but yes, she is older than the celebration of Kwanza.
But back to Christmas ...
Over the years of this blog, I have put up several Christmas-oriented Rants, some directly about the holiday, others sort of on the periphery of this great day.
I am American, December 25 is a day off for me, but let's be honest about it, I don't get the full Christmas thrust because, well, I am Jewish.
I enjoy the holiday as much as the next guy, but I can't possibly get into it as much as those who celebrate the day, because quite frankly, it is not my day to celebrate.”
That is all still true today.
But today, even though we all have our differences, we share one common goal: to get rid of this thing ailing us right now.
It brings us together as a people and as a civilization, no matter what religion we follow, or even if we follow no religion at all.
Hopefully, by the time of the 2021 holiday season, we can just look back at the 2020 holidays as an aberration, and we can get ourselves back to removing the blah of this year’s holidays and putting the joy back into them.
So have a wonderful Christmas, and I will speak to you again on Monday as we prepare for the new year.
Have a great weekend, and to my sister, have a great birthday.
Really?
Yes, it is now Christmas Eve morning, but however we wrap it up and dress it up, this year’s Christmas is much like this year’s Hanukkah …
Kinda blah, wouldn’t you day?
The majesty of the holiday is still there, and no pandemic is going to change that.
But the verve, the fun, the life of the holiday has been taken right out of it by this scourge we are fighting.
I have to tell you, even when I lit the holiday menorah lights for Hanukkah this year, I was putting a good face on everything, but let’s face it, this year’s celebrations are unlike anything we have ever witnessed.
These are holidays of joy, holidays of peace, and holidays of family, but this year’s holidays are really none of that.
We have no joy because our world is a mess.
We have no peace because we are fighting the very thing taking the joy out of these holidays, and that is the pandemic.
And as far as family, we have been told time and time again to not visit anyone this year, not to travel, not to go anywhere, whether it is to family or friends.
So while the majesty of Christmas is there, the joy isn’t.
But again, I am an outsider looking in, and perhaps we can all make our holidays the best they can be, and we will just have to leave it at that for this year.
Here is what I wrote about Christmas just a few years ago, in Rant #2,049, dated December 22, 2017:
“This is a wonderful time of the year.
First we had Hanukkah, and now we have Christmas, with New Year's just a few days away.
And yes, Kwanzaa is on December 26, which just happens to be my sister's birthday.
I won't tell you how old she is, but yes, she is older than the celebration of Kwanza.
But back to Christmas ...
Over the years of this blog, I have put up several Christmas-oriented Rants, some directly about the holiday, others sort of on the periphery of this great day.
I am American, December 25 is a day off for me, but let's be honest about it, I don't get the full Christmas thrust because, well, I am Jewish.
I enjoy the holiday as much as the next guy, but I can't possibly get into it as much as those who celebrate the day, because quite frankly, it is not my day to celebrate.”
That is all still true today.
But today, even though we all have our differences, we share one common goal: to get rid of this thing ailing us right now.
It brings us together as a people and as a civilization, no matter what religion we follow, or even if we follow no religion at all.
Hopefully, by the time of the 2021 holiday season, we can just look back at the 2020 holidays as an aberration, and we can get ourselves back to removing the blah of this year’s holidays and putting the joy back into them.
So have a wonderful Christmas, and I will speak to you again on Monday as we prepare for the new year.
Have a great weekend, and to my sister, have a great birthday.
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