My own take on Christmas is this: it doesn't matter a jot on what day, month, year, time or place on the globe a teacher we have been taught to call Jesus Christ was born, as long as his message remains in sight. I like to think that, across the centuries, a lot of "special" events and phenomena were recorded diligently by scribes in the East. Tales of a teacher who healed the sick, and spoke of peace; tales of comets, and shooting stars and huge bright celestial bodies much grander than the norm, would all be carefully recorded and handed on to the next generation of scribes and storytellers. Then, at some point someone or some group gathered them together, picked the best parts, adding a smidgeon of imagination, and a sprinkling of extra cast members, et voila ! The Christmas Story - good enough to last for 2000 years, rooted in truth, packaged skillfully to appeal to countless generations.
Here's how the ages old Christmas Story sounds when told 21st century-style :
And on...and on...into the future the Christmas Story, or a variation of it, will live and evolve:
Warm Christmas wishes for a peaceful and happy holiday season to all commenters, readers, and occasional passers-by.
Well, we all like a good story and the Xmas story is loaded with ancestral meaning burnished with our unique familial traditions and beliefs. Cultures throughout the world (except Islam from 610 AD) have always placed a magnificent narrative on the astrological-astronomical cardinal points, with this Capricorn holiday being the big daddy. This is the time of year humans recognize that our journey on Earth is dependent on light and enlightenment, whether Saturnalia, Christmas, Kwanza, Feast of the Son of Isis, or Hanukkah.
ReplyDeleteWishing you and anyjazz...and all...a return of the Sun! Hope your foot revives, too...LOL. It's a brilliant, blue norther day here...cool, VERY blue sky, intense sunshine.
mike ~ Yes, we humans have loved stories since the ancient of days, when groups would gather around a fire, after a day of hunting and gathering, out in some wilderness under the stars, and listen to storytellers spinning their magic.
ReplyDeleteSending warmest wishes for the season to you, Gigi and other furry and feline friends whose names have managed to escape me.
Thank you for your good wishes, mike - my left foot thanks you too! ;-)
Our sky is more of a baby blue, temp still struggling to reach mis-40s.
Merry Christmas from this side of the pond. Roast beef for us tomorrow. Turkey too much for two.
ReplyDeleteAll good wishes for 2015 whatever it brings.
R x
Thanks, Twilight. Happy Holidays to everyone.:)
ReplyDeleteRossa ~ Wishes for a Merry One to you too are winging across the foamy divide, along with hopes that 2015 brings all you'd wish for.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the roast and, no doubt, your special brand of Yorkshire pud. We'll either be out with a pack of cheese sarnies looking for wildlife, or indoors if weather dictates, with what I call "Yankie-Doodle" - a yummy pot-roast made by himself (in other words the US version of extra special beef stew).
LB ~ Hi there LB! We've missed you.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Mr LB have a happy, healthy and peaceful season. :-)
Twilight ~ Thanks. Wishing the same to you and anyjazz, also mike, Sonny and anyone else reading. Have a good one!
ReplyDeleteLB! What a Xmas surprise! Not the same without you, but I understand that the life of a San Francisco debutante is a busy one, leaving no time for comments.
ReplyDeleteSonny, have yourself a bright & merry birthday!
Rosa & Twilight, I see beef in your futures, as Mercury conjuncts Pluto.