'Tis the Season

I hope you enjoy the "Rudolph" parody.
As I march through my final Kickstarter day. I hope for your generous shares.

And if you haven't seen it yet, watch my Kickstarter Vid.

Holiday Dinner...ish

I had every intention of writing another scathing rebuke against Christmas tonight, but then today happened. 

I work two days a week at a restaurant (Thank you, student loans). I largely regard the job with ambivalence.  On the one hand, "foodies" and all manner of shockingly entitled restaurant patrons can leave servers in doubt as to even basic human empathy. But, by contrast, there are incredible shows of deep human connection occurring every day in restaurants all over. From celebrations, to just generally happy people, the microcosm of  food service is quite interesting. And today it was inspirational.

A middle-aged couple finished up dinner, and as I presented their check, they stopped me.

Discreetly indicating an older couple across the aisle, my guests told me that they wanted to pick up the tab for their dinner as well. It was a little amazing. But it gets better. It's not the first time I've had tables pick up tabs for each other: business people for clients, old friends and other connected persons. The magic was that, as far as I can tell, there was no connection between these two couples. I coordinated with the other server, closed the two checks, and watched as the paying couple vanished into the evening like a pair of cobbler's elves, without saying even a word to the beneficiaries of their generosity. "I'm just flabbergasted," the old man told his server when he heard of their good fortune.

The couple left us with a thirty percent tip and a great story which I shared with nearly the entire staff.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" one of my co-workers asserted...

So I guess MoTheThird vs. Christmas (Round Three) goes to Christmas as well. 

I'll get you next time Christmas...next time...

Photo Credit: Ryan Jacobs

Santa Responds: or What Has 38 Legs, and Flies?

MoTheThird vs. Christmas (Round Two)

Santa, the Ageless Spirit

            Christmas is a favorite time for many. Strangers helping strangers, wish one another, “season’s greetings,” and generosity prompts people to give, expecting nothing tangible in return. Many flock to the overlooked and down trodden during this season of love and giving. This season, however, would not be the same if it were not for our favorite friend in red…

You want me to  what?...You must be kidding!...How do you expect me to do that?...Am I on Candid Camera?...Good. If you show me THEN maybe I’ll believe you.

Convincing Santa of his duties would be a little hard. But Santa has grown into something more than little children waiting for an elfin bearer of gifts. He has become the embodiment of selfless giving and purity of heart. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Clause. He is seen wherever love and generosity prompt action. And shown where selflessness and purity rise to giving. He thrives in the innocence of people making snow angels, and pressing against frosted windows to see the impression of their faces.

We come to this most wonderful time year, and see Santa’s spirit as many take time out of their chaotic holiday schedules to volunteer at shelters and kitchens. Of course, as we’re dashing through the snow, we can’t all stop what we’re doing and work at a shelter.

“Are you nuts? How am I supposed to read this twice? I have a life you know. What do you mean, ‘not really?’ Whatever! So, you’re just saying that I am going to know… Even if I’ve never seen the kid before?... Fine!”

However, many more of us choose to give of our finances, depositing money into the red canisters of bell-ringers trying to bring cheer to a less fortunate group.

As over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go, we think of love shared among family and friends. The selfless giving spirit of dear old Kris Kringle is evident in the heartfelt exchanging of gifts. As moms and dads, siblings and cousins, all join the merry songs of the seasons.

You know, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph…Yeah, I did. But I didn’t think that you meant here… They are big and dirty, and if they don’t stop grazing soon, I won’t have a lawn by tomorrow.”

As we’re walking through winter wonderlands, or gliding along with the song of wint’ry fairylands, we can’t help but notice the glowing faces of the youth all around. As they stand, their eyes cast heavenward hoping for a glimpse of reindeer, running a pre-Christmas flight, working all the kinks out, preparing for the big day. Every day to Christmas Eve you can see the tiny children slipping timidly into the lap of the famed man and whispering cautiously into his ear those things she would like to see sticking out from beneath the bottom bough of the Christmas tree.

Okay, I’m here. Now what? Did I do what? No. No. NO! I am drawing the line, right there. Why don’t I just go through the door? Yes, “security system” means something to me, but, not as much as “filthy chimney and flaming hot fireplace.” And what about dogs? And Guns? I know that I would…whoa! What do you mean, ‘good luck?’ This isn’t funny…Hello?! Hello?!

The innocent belief in Santa is perfectly shown in the 1994 box office hit, The Santa Clause, “Seeing is believing. Believing is seeing. Kids don’t have to see this place to know that it’s here. They just know.” The spirit of Santa lies in the heart of the child who leaves the plate of cookies and glass of milk for the busiest man of the night.

But, it came upon a midnight clear. The gift giver and the gift are the most wonderful part of the story of Christmas. As the very name Christmas suggests the gift of Christ. From the best giver, the ultimate gift, to the most needy receiver. The innocent Christ having sacrificed deity, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head. The giving and sacrificial spirit of Santa is seen away in a manger.

Okay, you were right. I enjoyed the ride and the thoughts of the children’s faces when they open up the gifts. But right now, I am just looking forward to a long winter’s nap… What do you mean, “inventory?”

The Scrooges, the Grinches, and the general grumpy pants people, say it’s a seasonal marketing ploy. But, as long as there are those giving sacrificially, lovingly unconditionally, and believing innocently in something they can never see, then Santa will live in Christmas. For some, he’s just a mythical figure whose exploits are misplaced in civilized society. For others, he is the usurper of Christmas’s focus from Christ. For some, he is a jolly old man in a store window. But Christmas without Santa is like a song without harmony… It just lacks a little something.

Because he’s giving, loving and innocence, and those are pretty key to Christmas. 

Photo: WhisperingSoul

 

Lost By a Nose: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Perception is reality. Seriously. When you think that someone is flirting with you, you feel sexier, and you open up or close off, depending on your attraction to the person. And when you realize that the person in question was smiling and nodding at the charmer behind you…well…you get the picture.

Try these statements on for size: Christmas is wonderful. Christmas is horrible. Christmas is spiritual. Christmas is secular. Christmas is materialistic. Christmas is magical.

Any of them ring for you?

Christmas, is a crazy collection of traditions and new ideas. But if you take them separately, they’re a little nuts. And I’m taking them on. Of course, the fair minded liberal in me will also defend the crap out of Christmas. Let’s get it on.

MoTheThird vs. Christmas (Round One)

: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

O.K. A head lit reindeer swoops in and saves a Christmas in peril, triumphing against all odds to illuminate the sleigh path to happily ever after. What’s not to love?

I’m left to wonder; in the history of Santa, was there NEVER a “foggy Christmas?” An entity such as Santa, who delivers gifts to the world, over the course of a day, magically altered or otherwise, did not have the foresight to see bad weather in the cards? I’m not impressed. Greek fire, famous for it’s ability to withstand the elements in battle, has been around for a really long time, and should have been ideal for Jolly Old St. Nick’s purposes. You’d think he could get his hands on some. Alternative lighting would have eliminated the need to break another member onto the team; which seems like an unnecessary risk, at the last minute. If Greek fire, other torches, and headlamps, etc. aren’t an option, what will happen when Rudolph isn’t an option either? This seems like a precarious point on which the entire Christmas tradition teeters.

And I know that you’re thinking, “Rudolph will just live forever with Santa’s other Reindeer.” If that’s the case, then the whole thing becomes less explainable, because…If the reindeer live forever, where did Rudolph come from? And won't the world be, eventually overrun by immortal reindeer (Sarah Palin notwithstanding)?

Silly little details like, severe internal logic gaps aside. I’m going to go ahead and assault the story of Rudolph from the moral high ground. Yup, I’m getting high and mighty on a favorite tale. Santa, the very model of love, the rewarder of good little children, and perpetual threat for parents of naughty children to hold over their heads. Santa, who is so concerned with fairness and justice, that he has a list of children, which he checks twice, to assess their gift worthiness. Either ignored, was ignorant of or, worst of all, was complicit in the exclusion of a reindeer from “any reindeer games.” According to the movie, this exclusion included necessary life and job training. This is unconscionable.

A sick extension of this repression, is the hero status which he enjoys after the foggy night. None of the reindeer appear to have experienced any psychological evolution. The entire body accepts him only as a solution to a deficiency of the collective. I know I use this example with some frequency, but Rudolph is Christmas’s X-man. They don’t want him ‘til they need him. And they don’t mention him after that. And, while, I don’t think that they created Sentinels to hunt down the exceptions, I’d imagine that the next reindeer who comes down the pike who is a little different won’t be joining in reindeer games either.

I have to give the story one thing, though. Rudolph, as a protagonist is a little simplistic. Nevertheless, he serves as an amazing example of, the Ubuntu philosophy and forgiveness. Rudolph, against the backdrop of years of what amounts to psychological torture, is surrounded by panic stricken colleagues and even the negligent boss man, holding all the cards in his hooves. With the opportunity to give everyone the middle…never mind, he lets it all go, and comes to the rescue of the world’s children.

So we have an incredibly heroic hero in a world where Santa, the elves, and the reindeer are the bad guys. Some Christmas that is.

So who gets this point, Mo3  or Christmas?