Tag Archives: holiday

Christmas survived us, and we survived it

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I went walking on Christmas Day and crossed paths with others doing the same. Unprompted, most wished me a “Merry Christmas.” Some simply said “hi” or gave me a nod. Only a few said nothing at all.

None wished me “Happy Holidays.” And there were no Kwanzaa carols in the air.

Yes indeed, “Merry Christmas” survived the invention of both “Happy Holidays” (a misguided attempt to avoid offending Jews by greeting them with a wish for merriment when they were not merrily profiting from the writing of most of our modern Christmas carols) and Kwanzaa, a late-20th century invention that was something like DEI for religious holidays to pander to people who think Christ is a dead white European who preached that camels could pass through the eye of a needle easier than poor Black people could get to heaven.  

Christmas also survived the climate-change lobby. It survived the Gaia worshippers.

It survived the nihilistic, faithless Millennials (and has been embraced by their successors, the faith-seeking Gen Z), it survived the Godless Democrats, it survived the proselytizing atheists.

It survived 9/11, it survived October 7.

It survived the faith-mockers, it survived “Pope” Francis, it survived the Episcopalians, it survived yard signs of the self-devout self-proclaiming their virtue.

And not only did Christmas survive us, we survived it.

We survived electronic Christmas cards. We survived ghosts of fruitcakes from Christmases past (they never go bad, you know, or at least they never go worse). We survived aluminum Christmas trees, we survived plastic Christmas trees, and we survived dead Christmas trees.

We survived LED candles, we survived the mall.

We survived the still-unfilled promise of joy to the world and we survived Joy to the World. We survived a noisy night and we survived Silent Night. We survived Come All Ye Faithful and we survived Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

We survived We Three Kings even amid the chants of “no kings!”

We survived the cancelation of Baby it’s Cold Outside.

Speaking of which, your correspondent became a grandfather a couple of weeks ago, which is not to be confused with a grand father or even a mediocre father.

I came through it all fine, and I’m mostly happy and healthy, thank you for asking.

But it’s not all just about me, there are also other people involved. They’re happy and healthy as well.

I have a feeling that the silent nights in their home will be few and far between in the upcoming few months, but I’m starting to understand joy to the world. You see, it happens one little world at a time.

Now, if I can just get through New Years Eve unscathed . . .  Isn’t that when they do the mistletoe thing?

Rudolph was saved but all the other reindeer are mean girls

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Do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Here’s a hint:

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,

Had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it,

You would even say it glows.

So, on top of an unusual name for a reindeer, Rudolph had a slight physical defect. But don’t we all?

You probably think nobody even noticed Rudolph’s defect. It’s like when your nose is just a teensy bit crooked but you need a ruler to figure it out. Or you happen to have no hair on top of your head but nobody even notices unless you take off your ski helmet and they see it shiny with sweat right after you ripped a double-black.

Wrong. The other reindeer did notice:

All of the other reindeer,

Used to laugh and call him names,

They never let poor Rudolph,

Join in any reindeer games.

OK, this pisses me off. It’s not like Rudolph surrendered to the Taliban or to the illegals. Just because the guy has a slight physical defect, the other reindeer gave him the FJB treatment.

I suppose Rudolph still found happiness of a sort, notwithstanding the ostracism. With those long strong legs, he probably did a lot of air hiking. Mostly alone.

Then the story takes a twist. The Big Guy shows up:

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,

Santa came to say,

‘Rudolph with your nose so bright,

Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?’

This is presented as a purely utilitarian gesture by the Big Guy, but is it really? He surely knew of Rudolph’s plight. And he must have known that he’d get little guidance for his sleigh from a mere shiny nose. And there must have been other foggy Christmas Eves where he didn’t invite Rudolph to guide the sleigh. And there’s no predicate in the story for Rudolph having any experience in sleigh guidance. Yet, the Big Guy chose Rudolph for this important task.

Here’s my theory. The Big Guy saw a man . . . er, a reindeer, in need. He offered to help – not with charity but with an opportunity to prove himself by helping others.  

The last became the first, but only after the Big Guy offered Rudolph that place in line and Rudolph had the courage to accept it – along with all the daring demands and physical challenges and great responsibility that accompanied it. Had Rudolph guided the sleigh into a Starlink satellite, the story would not have ended happily ever after.

Rudolph accepted a hand but not a handout, He seized the opportunity, and flew with it. He had no experience but figured he’d learn on the fly.

And he did. Rudolph was possessed of a grace nothing short of amazing.

Then the story takes a mean girl twist, often not recognized as such by casual singers:

Then all the reindeer loved him,

As they shouted out with glee,

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer,

You’ll go down in historeeeee.

Wait a minute! Now the other reindeer loved him? Now? Where were they before, when Rudy needed a friend? They were mocking and ostracizing him, that’s where.

I have a suggestion for Rudy. He and the Big Guy should invite Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen, over for dinner. Main dish: venison.