Just Another Day

It's just another day.

Today is Christmas, and for me, it is just another day. No family or friends are coming to visit. My adult daughter decided to cut off communication with me to, as she said, spare me any more pain due to her bad life choices. Other family members, for reasons unknown, have no contact with me. 

So this over-hyped, overrated holiday is just another day. Because I need something to eat, I made a slow cooker full of beef stew, and some cornbread. I have been listening to some of my Christmas CDs. But there are no decorations in the house, no tree in the corner, no fudge, no cookies baking in the oven. I'm missing my little dog Bailey more than ever since her sudden death last September. The weather matches my mood: gray, foggy, cold and drizzly. 

I will do some charitable donations later today, but even that seems like more of an obligation than something I used to enjoy. 

More and more, Christmas seems like a fake holiday. It's so commercialized and phony. The schmaltzy Hallmark movies. The fake camaraderie, the smiling families who can't stand to be together the rest of the year, the never-ending push to buy "the perfect gift." The reindeer, the snowmen, even Santa Claus is a corruption of an actual person. Even the date is fake. We simply don't know when the Christ child was born. Some believe the birth happened in the spring, or maybe it was during summer. There is a lot of speculation as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, but nothing can be proven. In any event, it was well into the fourth century before December 25 became the 'official' birthday of Christ.

The bottom line, of course, is that it doesn't really matter when the baby Jesus was born. If you're a Christian believer, the date of birth is irrelevant. What is important is to remember the teachings of Jesus: kindness to others, loving others as yourself, forgiveness, sharing with the less fortunate. Santa Claus, cookies, trees and all other fake parts of the celebration are not important. Many of these traditions actually are pagan in origin. There was a real man named Nicholas of Myra who was sainted. He did leave bags of gold coins for the poor father of several daughters who were unable to marry because their father had no money for a dowry. Nicholas lived in the ancient Greek maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (in what is now Turkey) and he was an early Christian bishop during the time of the Roman Empire. He died in 343 A.D.

What is important, whether you are Christian or not, is how we treat people, how we live our lives, how we treat animals, and how we care for the Earth. Attending a church service once a year is not important.

I haven't been inside a church except as a visitor in another country for decades. I don't profess any specific denomination. Yet I think I live a good life. I am kind, and I donate a considerable amount of money to several charitable organizations every year. I sell custom photo calendars, with all proceeds going to charity.

So I don't need the schmaltzy movies, the pressure to buy "the perfect gift," or the stress of the holidays. I don't need to attend church. Not everyone has caring, supportive families. Some people spend Christmas alone, by choice or by circumstance. I prefer to focus more on the meanings and lessons of the season, and less on the phony trappings.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all, regardless of how you celebrate (or don't).