The Zen of Christmas
It's a truism of popular culture that everybody is rushing around before Christmas, trying to get the best presents, or the best deals, or both. As the thought goes, people are trying to cram 30 hours worth of stuff into a 24-hour day. Of course, this means that everybody is stressed!
I'm not.
Here's how I avoid the stress and enjoy the holidays!
It's simple: I don't go running every time some marketer shouts "get your deals right here" like a beer vendor at a ball game!
I don't give gifts (other than perhaps very minor, inexpensive ones, like candy), and I don't expect any.
When I need something, I purchase it—no matter what time of year it is. And I refuse to fill my living space with a bunch of junk I don't need [if I did, I'd have to buy even more junk to help me organize it! I already have enough trouble staying organized as it is, and all my belongings can literally fit into a family sedan!]
If I'm feeling nostalgic, I watch a traditional Christmas movie or look at neighbors' decorations. Or I read religious texts to remind myself that the season is not about buying crap that's supposedly "on sale." I'd much rather remind myself of what's really important: friends, family, and personal values.
By the way, where did the widely-held notion that Christmas is about family and tranquillity come from? Apparently, it came from the minds of Washington Irving and Charles Dickens!
So, according to history.com, the spirit of goodwill, peaceful reflection, and family values around this time of year was a cultural invention of entertainers who were apparently responding to changing times and public sentiment!
For those who are interested, here's a history of Christmas that extends back to the pre-Christian era. Many Christians observe the holiday to reflect that God loves humans enough that He was willing to live as one of us, and even to undergo a painful execution in order to take the blame for humanity's past, present, and future sins.
However, as explained at the link above, humans have been celebrating around this time of year for far longer than 2000 years. This time of year was historically a good time for feasts and celebrations, for the practical reasons that the pantry was usually full and there was little work to do on the farm.
So, when officials in the early Christian Church decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in addition to Easter, Pope Julius decided to celebrate the birth on December 25th, rather than the more likely fall birthdate, around September or early October.
So, like the spirit of goodwill, peaceful reflection, and family values around this time of year, the ubiquitous decree that you spend all your hard-earned money on stuff that nobody needs is a re-invention of what the December holiday is all about.
Therefore, I maintain the Zen of Christmas deliberately: by spending time with family, by taking time to reflect on my values and priorities, and by refusing to participate in the rat race.
And I'm much happier for it.
***
It's simple: I don't go running every time some marketer shouts "get your deals right here" like a beer vendor at a ball game!
I don't give gifts (other than perhaps very minor, inexpensive ones, like candy), and I don't expect any.
When I need something, I purchase it—no matter what time of year it is. And I refuse to fill my living space with a bunch of junk I don't need [if I did, I'd have to buy even more junk to help me organize it! I already have enough trouble staying organized as it is, and all my belongings can literally fit into a family sedan!]
If I'm feeling nostalgic, I watch a traditional Christmas movie or look at neighbors' decorations. Or I read religious texts to remind myself that the season is not about buying crap that's supposedly "on sale." I'd much rather remind myself of what's really important: friends, family, and personal values.
***
By the way, where did the widely-held notion that Christmas is about family and tranquillity come from? Apparently, it came from the minds of Washington Irving and Charles Dickens!
So, according to history.com, the spirit of goodwill, peaceful reflection, and family values around this time of year was a cultural invention of entertainers who were apparently responding to changing times and public sentiment!
For those who are interested, here's a history of Christmas that extends back to the pre-Christian era. Many Christians observe the holiday to reflect that God loves humans enough that He was willing to live as one of us, and even to undergo a painful execution in order to take the blame for humanity's past, present, and future sins.
However, as explained at the link above, humans have been celebrating around this time of year for far longer than 2000 years. This time of year was historically a good time for feasts and celebrations, for the practical reasons that the pantry was usually full and there was little work to do on the farm.
So, when officials in the early Christian Church decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in addition to Easter, Pope Julius decided to celebrate the birth on December 25th, rather than the more likely fall birthdate, around September or early October.
So, like the spirit of goodwill, peaceful reflection, and family values around this time of year, the ubiquitous decree that you spend all your hard-earned money on stuff that nobody needs is a re-invention of what the December holiday is all about.
Therefore, I maintain the Zen of Christmas deliberately: by spending time with family, by taking time to reflect on my values and priorities, and by refusing to participate in the rat race.
And I'm much happier for it.
***
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