Two thousand years ago, give or take (i personally think it was a little more, but hey, who am i to go against tradition?), a child was born to two very poor people who were s.o.l. in the lodging department that nite, so instead of a nice, sterile hotel room, the kid got stuck being born in a barn. The smell was ba, but at least they had all the fresh milk they needed. This child was supposedly (and i only say that for you non-believers out there, personally, i am not among you) the Son of God, and he went on to do many great things, and eventually was brutally murdered on the Cross, so that the many, many, MANY sinners of the world could be forgiven...eventually, but hey, that story is reserved for Easter...So, moving on...
Because of this Great man's teachings, a new religion was born...they called this religion Christianity. It quickly caught on, even tho a lot of people caught a bunch of slack for believing in it...people were murdered, wars were fought...and life was generally miserable for a long time (ok, so it's still not a bowl of cherries, but at least now we have heat and air conditioning). People couldn't see eye to eye about this guy, so they decided to take an eye for an eye, even tho that went against all he'd taught. Even the Christians themselves couldn't agree on certain things, so they wound up dividing themselves into different sects, as often happens in matters of religion, or anything else for that matter...The one thing they could agree on was to set aside one day out of the year to celebrate this man's birth. December 25th was chosen. Why, i don't know, but i'm sure there was a good reason.
Through the years, many traditions fell into place. The giving of giftes, the cutting down of perfectly healthy trees to put into homes so they could wither and die...stuff like that
Eventually, some people in the world thought 'Hey, this Christmas thing could make us a lot of money..we ought to do something about it!' Hence, the giving of gifts because 'I want this, and i want that, and gimme, gimme, gimme!!!!!!!!!' The feeling of Peace and Goodwill twords others becacme 'Hey! I saw that Furby first! It's MINE!!!' (followed by swearing, punching, hair pulling, biting, etc, etc, etc). Decorations which previously remained in storage until after Thanksgiving started popping up right after Labor day...Halloween if you're lucky...And the Spirit of Christmas became lost to many in the commercilization of it all.
However, (and omg, i can't believe my cynical self is saying this...shoot me now) all is NOT lost. Christmas IS still a time of joy. Remember on this Day of Days that all those years ago, a child was born. And His presence is with us now, as ever. Three Wise Men went in search of Him, knowing before all others of His greatness. They bestowed upon Him three gifts: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. They asked nothing in return but to look upon Him, and know that better things were coming.
In this day, children are still starving, meaningless wars are still being fought, but know that what those three men knew then is still true today. Better things are coming. I'm not talking about Heaven, or Judgment Day. I'm talking about the Peace and Goodwill twords others that we should all embrace. Not just on this one day out of the year, but every day.
I was once told that one person cannot make a difference in this world (believe it or not, yes there is someone out there more cynical than i...of course, after this, i just might have to stop calling myself cynical...i'm getting a repuations here...egads). This person thought to discourage me from trying my hardest to retain all that i had been taught thru the years about Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, and others. Each of these people made a difference. One by one. Their lives are forever ingrained in our very own. Follow their lead and perhaps, one day, another child will be born who will change the course of our lives. Take the time out from your life to make a difference in the world. Better things will come from it. And the Spirit of Christmas will live on.
OK, i think i can step off my soapbox now...gee...did i really get that preachy? man, i need to get out more... this staying in stuff is making me lose my edge. ;-)
