Ihbia: Christmas

Here within are my thoughts on the Christmas period, not necessarily the event that it all springs from (so not necessarily the important bit).

So, firstly what date is Christmas again? Is it sometime near Thanksgiving? I feel like it must be when they play Christmas music on the radio in late October and have Christmas goods available in Tesco before the Halloween ones even came out. (late August).

I love the Christmas period but I hate Christmas day. It's really anti-climatic I think.

I love the period because I can decorate the house all pretty and with lights and tinsel and decorations and lovely things that make me happy, and, like right now, I can listen to cheesy Christmas songs that I hate to love. I like buying presents for people, it's like an exercise in how well I know them. It's kind of exhilarating. I love making dinners for people and having a laugh together and all of that.

BUT I think we do Christmas Day completely wrong. Firstly, it is an unChristian notion that Christmas should be about your family. I'm sorry but if on the 11th of November (my birthday btw) you were to tell me "I can't come to your shindig because I need to spend time with my family" I would punch you. Probably not literally because I have punched like one person in my entire life and that was for an ironic reason I won't get into at this point. I think Christmas Day should be a big party... We should go to Church and STAY THERE, all day... Bring all the family, bring the friends, bring the grandkids, bring the neighbours, bring the homeless, bring everyone!

We can have music, we can have cake, we can have mince pies, we can ring bells, we can open presents as one HUGE family of God, we can all bring food we spent Christmas Eve cooking and eat together, we could have it in someone's house... we can do it all but in Jesus' presence.

When I was a kid I insisted, and so it is now a tradition in my house, that we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day before we ate dinner. I thought it was stupid when I was a teenager and hated it, imagine my embarrassment when mum told me it had been my idea!

Maybe I should do a glimpse into the Cowpar Christmas (and there is nothing I don't love about this, I just think it should be much less about us and much more about Jesus)

-Arise, 6:30-8:30am to open 'Santa' presents.
-9:00 breakfast, tea and get dressed.
-10:15 head to the Hall.
-10:45 Mince pies in Mallow Street.
-11:30 Leave the Hall.
-12:00 sometimes visit people.
-15:00 dinner.
-16/17:00 open non-Santa presents/
-19:00 Christmas soaps.
-21:00 Christmas game or movie.


What I presently love about Christmas:

-Decorating.
-Buying presents
-Giving presents.
-Making dinners.
-Smiles and love.
-Helping mum with stuff.
-Going to St. Mary's Cathedral for the first eucharist of Christmas on Christmas Eve-Christmas morning with dad (when he isn't working).
-Christmas day church.
-Doing actual things with the family... being together, playing a game or something that doesn't involve TV.

Bah Humbug ;)