Confessions of an Ex-Caroler!
palestine said:
:salam2: my dear brother i could use everything that you tell me about christmas. please i need all the help from u and ur wife. thank you ever so much! i need things like why it is celebrated? u know like what the tree stood for. thx :salam2:
WaAlaikum Salaam, Sister,
Alright well I'll give you the superficial version first, Christmas from the perspective of your average folk.
Christmas does not have to be a religious holiday; There's something called the "Christmas spirit" where folk in the West enjoy encouraging each other to be just a little extra kind, generous, caring and even reflective. In the eyes of many, Christmas signifies the end of another year (it is after all at the end of the last month of the year) and is an oppourtunity to take time away from school and work, and share it instead with friends and loved ones.
For many, Christmas has the added bonus of coincidentally being the exact day that Jesus Christ was born (PBUH)! Yay for Jesus, don't we all love the story of how Mary rocked his little "manger" (primitive crib) back and forth, how the 3 wise men came to give gifts to this young Messiah, and how this was the night that God changed the course of history! Awww... So why not sing carols about it all, too? Most of the songs are of a religious nature to one degree or another, but for the aethiestic crowd don't worry - The Christmas spirit doesn't exclude anyone from participating in the joys of Christmas! You can look forward to spreading the holiday cheer with such hits as: "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!" or the Christmas classic, "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer". Hurray!
But beyond the carols and the annual tradition of trying to be nice, there's something even better about this wonderful time of year... PRESENTS! And when I say presents I mean
P R E S E N T S
... LOTS of presents. Even if you family can't
really afford them, all of that advertising and special sales on get to even the most frugal of Christmas shoppers. It's like we couldn't resist it! After all, even the debt collectors understand that Christmas is a special time of year, and we can always work out some arrangement to pay off our loans a little later, right? I mean sure, we'll have to pay more interest, but who cares - It's CHRISTMAS!!! YAHOOO!!!
Let's not forget (though it's understandable if you have) the
other Christmas tradition: Drinking! Ever heard of "Egg-Nog"? "Brandy"? "Beer"? You name it, we drink it, and LOTS of it too! Bahahaha. Even little Timmy gets plastered coz, after all, it's CHRISTMAS!!! WEEE!! Why do they do it? Uuuuhg, yeah that's the thing about alcohol and it's affects on the brain: I just don't remember, sorry. Perhaps the better question you'd be asked is: WHY NOT?!?!
Speaking of little Timmy, dear little Timmy, there's something that he gets more excited about at Christmas time than all of the carols and all of the presents and ALL of the booze combined: Santa Clause! Yay for Satan... err, Santa! See, Santa is a jolly fat man who wears fuzzy red clothes and lives up at the North Pole (just ask us Canadians!) with Mrs. Clause and as well many, many little elves! The elves are responsible for manufacuring the millions of presents that Santa delivers (via your chimney, of course!), Mrs. Clause is responsible for breeding more elves (LOL sorry that's not true, I just had to add that bit), and Santa pays careful attention to ALL of the little boys and girls across the world, recording who's been naughty and who's been nice. If you've been a good boy or girl this last year, Santa will give you several fine presents, but if you've been
bad... Santa will leave a lump of COAL in your Christmas stocking (a large sock)! Santa also enjoys receiving your letters and emails, and you're free to indulge your imagination and ask for whatever your heart desires.
Perhaps finally, at the centre of every Christmas tradition is the beloved "Christmas Tree". What exactly is the purpose or relavence of this tree is little known, but what
is widely known but everyone is that the tree is there as a place to store your PRESENTS under! Yay! Also, you can spend even more money on cheap, lead-ridden plastic decorations made in China and use them to make your tree look extra
special. This is especially fun when your parents and you do this activity together. Awwww...
In conclusion... I forgot. But hey it's CHRISTMAS so who cares?! Sum1 pass teh Egg-Nog puleeze!
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this piece do not nessesarily reflect those of the owner or originator of them, nor do they reflect the values of TTI or its community. If you think Christmas is better than Eid then YOU SIR ARE WRONG. Christmas sucks, it is stressful, most of my relatives stink and always want to hug me in their stinky clothes, and my dad shows more attention to the freaking dog than he does to me! Did you know that more suicides occur in the Christmas season than at any other time of the year. That is a fact. Stress kills. So does lead-based paint in toys imported from China! So watch out, carolers!
I much prefer Christmas to Eid since Eid is just like any other day for me - nothing special. I don't celebrate Christmas, and haven't for religious reasons for years (it's so commercialized now days), but family and food during Christmas is infinitely better than Eid for me.