12.17.2006
No Reason For The Season
Here we go again. Another news story about getting through the holidays with less stress.
Fighting the crowds at the mall; trying to find that perfect gift; putting on a phony smile while hosting “friends” and relatives you can’t stand.
Jump those holiday hurdles. And what does the latest newspaper article suggest for ways you can keep your sanity? Relax, take a deep breath. Have a nice cup of tea. Take a nap. Shoot a little heroin. Whatever. Just regain your strength so that you can get back in the race. Jump, jump, jump!
Of course, the article says that one should keep in mind the reason for the season. This advice emphasizes the spirituality of Xmas. After all, it really celebrates the birthday of the Prince of Peace.
Does it? No one really knows when Jesus was born. And if you do a little research, you’ll learn why Xmas falls around the winter solstice. Paganism. The same reason why people cut down and haul trees into their homes, decorating them with manmade crap.
At least it isn’t as bad as the observance of Christ’s resurrection. Ever notice how Easter is celebrated a different time each year? How can that be? Gandhi was assassinated on January 30th and the anniversary of that event doesn’t move all over the calendar. But it would if it was observed, like Easter, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Full moon? Vernal equinox? How can this be? Simple: paganism, right down to the fertility symbols of the rabbit and the eggs.
But commercialism has trumped paganism during Xmas. There’s a TeeVee ad showing a well-off black couple celebrating the holidays. And what did he get his wife? Diamonds. The reason why so many of his black brothers have suffered and died in South Africa, thanks to De Beers. But a diamond is forever. And so are the sins of oppression.
But I suspect if you mention the history behind diamonds to a rich black or a wealthy white liberal, either one would somehow justify buying diamonds. It’s amazing how money affects one’s conscience.
Just like Xmas. I’ve never seen a news story telling people not to participate in the materialistic greed of the season. Instead, such articles explain how to at least keep participating, albeit with a scaled back schedule. No one tells them to drop out, saying “Fuck it!” to the whole deal. That would destroy the economy. If fewer businesses brought Xmas ads, due to a lack of interest by consumers, then the Teevee networks and the newspapers would suffer.
So next Xmas you’ll see the news media recycling the same stories about handling holiday stress. What is the logic behind a person allowing society at large to influence, even dictate, how one should behave, even if it means driving oneself crazy?
By going along with the standard advice about relieving holiday stress, you’re screwing around with the symptom, not the cause. Attack the cause.
Try a different approach. Say “Fuck it!” to the holidays.
And if my advice doesn’t work, it drives you crazier, then you can rejoin the fold for next year’s fleecing.
# posted by Stan Spire @ 12:37 AM 
