Wishing you a Happy Christmas!
Dec. 25th, 2010 01:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
possumcowboyI read "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids before they went to bed. When I got to the part where Santa says, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night", Nathan said, "Uh, don't you mean Merry Christmas?" I explained that in England, where the poem had been written, they wished each other a Happy, rather than Merry Christmas. He said, "Well, Merry Christmas sounds better." As there is no point in arguing with someone who is about to turn twelve in February, is tired, and is planning to wake up in about twenty minutes to proclaim that it is Christmas Morning, I simply stated that this was what they said in England where the poem had been written more than 150 years ago.
In what feels like a previous lifetime more than 150 years ago, I worked a retail floor selling clothing in a department store. I always enjoyed wishing my customers a Happy Christmas. Some were too busy to do more than mumble something like "murrah cursemiss" back to me. Sometimes, though, they'd really look at you before they'd respond, as if they'd actually seen you for the first time, as if you weren't something more than some sort of advanced vending machine interface. Now, of course, I imagine I'd be in trouble for not saying "Happy Holidays" or something equally bland. Also now, of course, I'd probably wish people a "Happy Winter Solstice" just to be a pain in the ass when the boss wasn't around. You can't possibly be upset with me for telling someone to enjoy an astronomical event which has no basis in ANY faith, can you? "It's a pagan holiday!" people might say. "Eat a dick!" I'd say, although there isn't any point in in explaining all the pre-christian rituals we perform each year, such as adorning evergreens in our homes, or bringing in mistletoe. This article with references talks about some of those, and has links to sources cited. I'm including the link because I did a search on the topic before I just slammed it in here without checking; nothing more irritating than stating something you think is the truth and then having the actual truth slammed back at you. I digress...
Let us review: on the 18th we had Christmas at my Ma's house in Bloomington, with my brother and his wife and their seven children. Levi is the youngest at six months, and is a very sweet baby. All the others were well behaved this year, and my step-son Nathan had a good time (omigod the food was sooo good). Sunday we met my dad at Bynum's Steakhouse in Martinsville (omigod you have GOT to go there)(located at # 25 Sunnyside Dr, Martinsville, IN 46151-1819)(I put the address because there isn't a website for the place!) for Christmas with him and his wife, Pamela. On Monday, Leah and my wedding anniversary, we celebrated by having a new water heater installed. (I can tell you later how delighted we were that we got one another a water heater as an anniversary present). We also celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House (omigod you have GOT to go there). On Tuesday and Wednesday, we sort of hung out at home and grazed on snacks. Thursday, we to and had dinner with my mother-in-law and Leah's brother and wife and their three-year-old twins (omigod the food was sooo good). Friday, Christmas Eve, we went to and had Costco Deli sandwiches with my father-in-law (omigod Costco Deli sandwiches are good). For tomorrow, Leah has made a breakfast casserole.
We (Leah and I) have negotiated a 7 am "earliest you may bug us" time. Nathan has a tendency to wake up at some unGODly hour when he's excited about something. Maddie is nearly 14 years old and would prefer to sleep until ten or eleven regardless of what the day has in store. Macy wants to get up early, but agreed that 6:30 was too early. And what do I have? Insomnia.
So, it's been a busy week. The girls' mom will pick them up tomorrow around noon, and the house will be far too quiet for a day or so, and then we'll get settled back into something that resembles normalcy.
ANYway...before I read "The Night Before Christmas" I read an obscure but wonderful story called "Red Ranger Came Calling: A Guaranteed True Christmas Story". If you've never heard of it, please think back to the newspaper cartoon Bloom County by Berkely Breathed. He's the author, and the story was told to him every year by his dad. I promise you, you'll get prickles when you read it to your kids. Remember, I'm an elementary school teacher; one of my classes in undergrad was called "Children's Literature".
I guess, if I were a guesser, which I suppose I am, that I'd like to wish you and yours a relaxing day with the people you'd most like to spend time with. I'd like to wish you a day of warm coffee, breakfast casserole, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and happy children. In short, my wish for you is everything good that I'd want for myself. Since I'm going to get exactly that, I'm just about the luckiest guy there is. I wish you to have a day of feeling that happy. And Happy Christmas.
In what feels like a previous lifetime more than 150 years ago, I worked a retail floor selling clothing in a department store. I always enjoyed wishing my customers a Happy Christmas. Some were too busy to do more than mumble something like "murrah cursemiss" back to me. Sometimes, though, they'd really look at you before they'd respond, as if they'd actually seen you for the first time, as if you weren't something more than some sort of advanced vending machine interface. Now, of course, I imagine I'd be in trouble for not saying "Happy Holidays" or something equally bland. Also now, of course, I'd probably wish people a "Happy Winter Solstice" just to be a pain in the ass when the boss wasn't around. You can't possibly be upset with me for telling someone to enjoy an astronomical event which has no basis in ANY faith, can you? "It's a pagan holiday!" people might say. "Eat a dick!" I'd say, although there isn't any point in in explaining all the pre-christian rituals we perform each year, such as adorning evergreens in our homes, or bringing in mistletoe. This article with references talks about some of those, and has links to sources cited. I'm including the link because I did a search on the topic before I just slammed it in here without checking; nothing more irritating than stating something you think is the truth and then having the actual truth slammed back at you. I digress...
Let us review: on the 18th we had Christmas at my Ma's house in Bloomington, with my brother and his wife and their seven children. Levi is the youngest at six months, and is a very sweet baby. All the others were well behaved this year, and my step-son Nathan had a good time (omigod the food was sooo good). Sunday we met my dad at Bynum's Steakhouse in Martinsville (omigod you have GOT to go there)(located at # 25 Sunnyside Dr, Martinsville, IN 46151-1819)(I put the address because there isn't a website for the place!) for Christmas with him and his wife, Pamela. On Monday, Leah and my wedding anniversary, we celebrated by having a new water heater installed. (I can tell you later how delighted we were that we got one another a water heater as an anniversary present). We also celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House (omigod you have GOT to go there). On Tuesday and Wednesday, we sort of hung out at home and grazed on snacks. Thursday, we to and had dinner with my mother-in-law and Leah's brother and wife and their three-year-old twins (omigod the food was sooo good). Friday, Christmas Eve, we went to and had Costco Deli sandwiches with my father-in-law (omigod Costco Deli sandwiches are good). For tomorrow, Leah has made a breakfast casserole.
We (Leah and I) have negotiated a 7 am "earliest you may bug us" time. Nathan has a tendency to wake up at some unGODly hour when he's excited about something. Maddie is nearly 14 years old and would prefer to sleep until ten or eleven regardless of what the day has in store. Macy wants to get up early, but agreed that 6:30 was too early. And what do I have? Insomnia.
So, it's been a busy week. The girls' mom will pick them up tomorrow around noon, and the house will be far too quiet for a day or so, and then we'll get settled back into something that resembles normalcy.
ANYway...before I read "The Night Before Christmas" I read an obscure but wonderful story called "Red Ranger Came Calling: A Guaranteed True Christmas Story". If you've never heard of it, please think back to the newspaper cartoon Bloom County by Berkely Breathed. He's the author, and the story was told to him every year by his dad. I promise you, you'll get prickles when you read it to your kids. Remember, I'm an elementary school teacher; one of my classes in undergrad was called "Children's Literature".
I guess, if I were a guesser, which I suppose I am, that I'd like to wish you and yours a relaxing day with the people you'd most like to spend time with. I'd like to wish you a day of warm coffee, breakfast casserole, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and happy children. In short, my wish for you is everything good that I'd want for myself. Since I'm going to get exactly that, I'm just about the luckiest guy there is. I wish you to have a day of feeling that happy. And Happy Christmas.