Monday, October 03, 2005

Seasonal Spirit

If you’re a Christian and maybe even if you aren’t, chances are, at least one of your happy childhood memories will involve Christmas. Now I’m not much of a Christian, in fact the only reason that I put down “Christianity” in the blank space after “Religion: ” is because its what my parents practise. If things were left to me…well that’s a discussion for another day.
Anyway, as I was saying, kid memories of Christmas. I remember how cool it felt when I was cast as King Herod in the school nativity play. Herod’s the only guy who’s sitting comfortably, in no less than a throne, mind you. And he gets to gesture majestically and generally look down on everyone else. Hey, even Jesus didn’t get to do that!
It’s a different matter that I was a shepherd the next year.

The carols were actually what would get me excited about Christmas. I guess it’s the same for every kid. Even if I knew Christmas was two weeks away, I didn’t feel it till I heard the music. I loved Jim Reeves’ “Twelve Songs of Christmas” but the folks insisted on playing Boney M’s Christmas album. Whatever it was, it brought a warm and fuzzy feeling with it and for nigh on three weeks no one got tired of the same old songs everyday.


That was like a lifetime ago.

Over the years Mr. Reeves crawled into the back of a dusty drawer with Boney M in hot pursuit. They were replaced by some Goan crap and my enthusiasm went out the window. But that wasn’t the reason why I stopped waiting for December, why I stopped fighting for a chance to decorate the tree, why I didn’t care about the presents anymore. After Christmas came the two weeks’ refractory period which included the momentary high and low of New Year’s Eve followed by New Year’s Day. Then came the rest of January, when people began to go back to their real selves and warm and fuzzy left on vacation. As soon as I concluded that Christmas was just an excuse for people to indulge themselves, all sentiment was lost. “Hey, it’s Christmas!” could be an excuse for anything from bumming cash off a friend to extra servings of a cholesterol filled dinner to a quickie right after church. And all the while people try and walk the roads with a serene air as if they’ve temporarily found inner peace. (Except when they’re doing last minute shopping) So where does the serenity go during the rest of the year? Why aren’t people just as nice and neighborly, February through November?

Now I begin to cringe around the second week of the twelfth month of every year as I feel the almost mandatory air of cheesy seasonal cheer set in around me. I can still stand some of the songs, but only some. So now the month is just cold, the holiday has grown old and I can’t remember a recent December when I haven’t been bitter on the inside.


On a related topic, I can’t stand it when I read, or worse, hear the word “Xmas”. Why doesn’t anyone have the time to use a slightly longer syllable in “Christmas”? It’s the correct word! Recently I found out that “X” was actually used as a symbol for Christ in some old times. I will not even consider the possibility that the average syllable slicer is aware of this, so I will just continue to be pissed off at every one of them.


One tequila, Two tequila, Three tequila, Floor

Fiona Apple – Across the Universe

2 comments:

ADITYA said...

hey bjj waddup ..y christmas now...wat makes ya check the sanctity of the classy rum plum cakes..and super roasted turkey dinners..adn glasses of wine red and splarkling white...wat makes ya go bish bam pow about how boney m was gotten rid of by remo..and clan...and how the Xmas took over christmas...hey bjj if things were to be chrismas like all round he year we seriously needed to have santa claus al round the year and alos snow and also vaction and also no worries for ppl to take care of the whole year ..adn more so no chores for ppl so that thy could make delicacies and gift things to neighbours and decorate the trees everyday..adn hey even be the best ppl...so we might as well need Jesus to have a make shift duplicate here on earth...things aint dat simple ..things r evolving...y dont ya see it this way..alleast the olks r trying to keep up with the christmas spirit as of yet...adn they r gettting on to keep it alive...if ya start thinkin this way then i dont think by the next fgeneration any one would even think of celebrating christmas..so here goes ....the times r changing...its more about having a motive prima faci...to have a celebration ..the ppl want to get in touch wid folks and so this is the perfect excuse...okkk the spiritual part is over with..but then u cant let go of the spirit just coz it aint christmas all round the uear...hey u aint crossin the pearl gates as yet..so it aint christmas everyday...and hey as long as ya remember him jim reeves can come back from the drawer any time...come on man even io dont give a crocodiles aasss about diwali but then again the things have to be this way ..and they r supposed to be there may be not for the religious or spiritual part of it but then it is there.we cant influence others faiths but we can bend in time according to situations if it takes so much to have a happy family...adn hey even though christmas is become a fest of the fashion victim...or may be the lightning fast thunder quickie...or may be the church is just a mere formality before the ate at the balll....it still is christmas...

"trumpets sound, the angels sing ,listen to wat they say,the world i happy bj boy because its christmas day...."

does dat ring a belll....hahahha

seasons greetings...
ciao

Björn said...

woah!!
one mother of a comment!
good to know...