I believe in Santa. Yes, I'm serious, I really do. I have a lot of reasons for this, and maybe someday they'll all spill out onto this blog. But for today, Christmas Eve, I don't see any reason in belaboring the point more than necessary, when Terry Pratchett got most of it exactly right in he best book, Hogfather, in a conversation between Death and his granddaughter (trust me) Susan.
Susan: Now tell me what would have happened--
Death: If we hadn't saved the Hogfather? The sun would not have risen. A mere ball of gas would have illumined the world.
Susan: Alright, I'm not stupid. You're saying that humans need fantasies to make life bearable.
Death: Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder, and sieve it through the finest sieve, and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet, you try to act as if there is some ideal order in the world. As if there is some, some rightness in the universe, by which it may be judged.
Susan: But people have got to believe that, or what's the point?
Death: You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?
Merry Christmas, Happy holidays, and joyous New Year everyone!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
And now I'm mad.
When did it become unacceptable to spend money at Christmas? What the hell happened? Yes, I get that plenty of people do not have jobs or money to spend. Really, believe me, I get that--if you don't believe me, just look back about one year's worth of posts here. And I get that Debt Is Bad. Yes it is. But if you do have the money? If you've been saving it up just for Christmas? If you *gasp* want to spend money on your friends and family? Why is it that I now have to defend myself because I do plan to spend money--more than average, too, the horror--on my family for Christmas?
When did it become a badge of honor to spend as absolutely little as possible on the people you care about, as if reducing your final spending is the only goal. I see people preening themselves all over the eco-blogosphere right now over how tiny their Christmas bill will be. Or congratulating themselves that they don't really get anything that they wouldn't otherwise, like PJs or a rainbarrel. Or that all of their gifts are handmade, and never purchased from anyone (who, you know, might've done a nice job and could've used the paycheck).
You know what I don't see in all of these self-congratulatory posts? I don't see any discussion of fun, or of happiness, or of joy. I see self-satisfaction oozing, no doubt. And I'm sure these people get a wonderful, healthy eco-smug glow on Christmas morning as their family opens their gifts, carefully selected to ensure that they are all in line with anti-consumerist zeitgeist.
Well you know what? F*ck that. I do have a job, and we saved specifically for this, and I'm gonna spend money that I never would on stuff that I never would and I'm gonna have a blast doing it. I'm gonna get things that we ordinarily never would--often things we need, sure, but also things we want. And I'm gonna get my kids some Hex Bugs. Why? Cause they're completely stupid and AWESOME! And a blanket fort kit! Why a kit, of all things? Cause it's AWESOME! And some roving for spinning yarn. Why? Cause I love it and I can't usually afford it and I'm gonna sooooo love spinning it into some yummy yarn! And maybe some shelving for various things, cause it'll make our lives a bit easier. And super-keeno things for my husband that I can't put here because he is NOT to be trusted when it comes to discretion. And I'll make some gifts too, not because I want to bask in the eco-glow, but because I enjoy making things for people, and I think that the gifts I make will in fact make these people's lives better, rather than because they have some crazy stamp of approval. And we'll have cookies and family and brunch at home and too much wrapping paper everywhere and popcorn and FUN! Because Christmas is supposed to be FUN!
I get the fact that our culture goes crazy-overboard on buying stuff. And I'm as sickened as anyone by the commercialism of Christmas. And no, I do not think that going into debt-slavery for Christmas is a good plan. But I'm also trying not to throw out the baby with the bathwater here. There is a reason that Christmas got commercialized--because it's the time of year when we collectively think about what we can get for others, or do for others, that will be appreciated and enjoyed and just generally will make our lives a bit nicer. And it has gone too far, when we buy stuff unreflectingly, just to be able to say that we bought something for someone.
But taking the goal of a tiny Christmas bill is the same sin as aiming for a huge bill--it's the wrong goal. I like the goal of buying things, making things, doing things for others that will bring joy and happiness into their lives, within the means of the giver (both in terms of money, materials, skills, and time). The point is to think of others, and how one can make those other's lives better, even if just for a little while. If you lose sight of this goal, then you lose sight of the joy in the season, and that's a real shame.
When did it become a badge of honor to spend as absolutely little as possible on the people you care about, as if reducing your final spending is the only goal. I see people preening themselves all over the eco-blogosphere right now over how tiny their Christmas bill will be. Or congratulating themselves that they don't really get anything that they wouldn't otherwise, like PJs or a rainbarrel. Or that all of their gifts are handmade, and never purchased from anyone (who, you know, might've done a nice job and could've used the paycheck).
You know what I don't see in all of these self-congratulatory posts? I don't see any discussion of fun, or of happiness, or of joy. I see self-satisfaction oozing, no doubt. And I'm sure these people get a wonderful, healthy eco-smug glow on Christmas morning as their family opens their gifts, carefully selected to ensure that they are all in line with anti-consumerist zeitgeist.
Well you know what? F*ck that. I do have a job, and we saved specifically for this, and I'm gonna spend money that I never would on stuff that I never would and I'm gonna have a blast doing it. I'm gonna get things that we ordinarily never would--often things we need, sure, but also things we want. And I'm gonna get my kids some Hex Bugs. Why? Cause they're completely stupid and AWESOME! And a blanket fort kit! Why a kit, of all things? Cause it's AWESOME! And some roving for spinning yarn. Why? Cause I love it and I can't usually afford it and I'm gonna sooooo love spinning it into some yummy yarn! And maybe some shelving for various things, cause it'll make our lives a bit easier. And super-keeno things for my husband that I can't put here because he is NOT to be trusted when it comes to discretion. And I'll make some gifts too, not because I want to bask in the eco-glow, but because I enjoy making things for people, and I think that the gifts I make will in fact make these people's lives better, rather than because they have some crazy stamp of approval. And we'll have cookies and family and brunch at home and too much wrapping paper everywhere and popcorn and FUN! Because Christmas is supposed to be FUN!
I get the fact that our culture goes crazy-overboard on buying stuff. And I'm as sickened as anyone by the commercialism of Christmas. And no, I do not think that going into debt-slavery for Christmas is a good plan. But I'm also trying not to throw out the baby with the bathwater here. There is a reason that Christmas got commercialized--because it's the time of year when we collectively think about what we can get for others, or do for others, that will be appreciated and enjoyed and just generally will make our lives a bit nicer. And it has gone too far, when we buy stuff unreflectingly, just to be able to say that we bought something for someone.
But taking the goal of a tiny Christmas bill is the same sin as aiming for a huge bill--it's the wrong goal. I like the goal of buying things, making things, doing things for others that will bring joy and happiness into their lives, within the means of the giver (both in terms of money, materials, skills, and time). The point is to think of others, and how one can make those other's lives better, even if just for a little while. If you lose sight of this goal, then you lose sight of the joy in the season, and that's a real shame.
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