They say holiday seasons have spirits.
Take Christmas. Every year its spirit, rooted in giving and
generosity, is undermined by manic, corrosive and decidedly
unChristian commercialism, a childhood training ground for a
lifetime of consumerism that should be called by its real name:
Giftsgiving.
They say holiday seasons have spirits.
Take Christmas. Every year its spirit, rooted in giving and generosity, is undermined by manic, corrosive and decidedly unChristian commercialism, a childhood training ground for a lifetime of consumerism that should be called by its real name: Giftsgiving.
Add to that the bogus politicization of the holiday in recent years, the endless carping about whether there is a cultural war over Christmas. There is, but only on the Fantasy Island that is Bill O’Reilly’s brain.
And yet every year I am overcome by the spirit of Christmas – the nostalgia, the carols, the smell of a real tree in the house, even the gaudy lights and decorations (and of course the seasonal lingerie).
How about Easter? Bunnies and crucifixion – or crucifixion, according to Da Vinci coders. Easter’s true spirit – sacrifice? procreation? – I’ve never been able to nail down.
The spirit of New Year’s? Spirits, naturally.
Columbus Day? The beginning of the end for the natives. Pass.
Veteran’s Day? Sober. Somber.
Labor Day? Now we’re getting somewhere. It comes at the best time of year, weather-wise, and you can work up an appetite.
Fourth of July? Labor Day with explosives.
Then there’s my favorite, Thanksgiving, now upon us. The spirit of Thanksgiving brings out the best in us, with the help of the two most important things in our lives: food, the not-so-delicacies we eat once a year; and family, especially those members many of us spend the rest of the year delicately ignoring.
Never mind the fussbudgets who use the occasion to remind us of our ancestors’ cruelty to the native hosts who made the first Thanksgiving possible. Had a spirit of giving thanks actually taken root then, things might have worked out differently. We’ve been trying to get it right ever since.
We were Puritans then, but ever since Thanksgiving has largely lost its Christian connotations and evolved into a nondenominational holiday – a mixed, purely American pedigree.
Does that mean we’ve declared war on religion in Thanksgiving? I’d rather not think about it.
The spirit of Thanksgiving is slow, especially after eating, a time to take stock, to be thankful, and perhaps ask ourselves what we’ve done in the preceding year, or will do in the one coming, for which others will be thankful.
Some may be thankful they only have to see us once a year.
As with New Year’s resolutions, I’ve always wondered why we don’t, as a matter of tradition, take a few moments at Thanksgiving to list the things we’re thankful for. This strikes me as backwards: Resolutions are inspired by the things we wish we had, the things we wish we could be thankful for.
The things for which we are thankful are our successful resolutions. They are our very reasons to live.
Some already make such lists. Here’s a start on mine:
I am thankful for good editors, who make me look like a smarter, better writer than I really am (although judging by this column I’m not so sure of the truth of that).
I am thankful for being able to work in a profession I love.
I am thankful for good coffee, and thoughtful co-workers who sometimes get it for each other.
I am thankful for living in the best place in the world.
I am thankful for the men and women in uniform, and their families, who have sacrificed so much for us in such a dubious battle.
I am thankful for good health.
I am thankful for my friends and family.
I am thankful for nature, for wilderness, and for private places I can think and be alone.
I am thankful for great minds, artists and spirits, who inspire us to become our best selves.
I am thankful for love.
While the Christmas spirit is nominally about giving, about selflessness and generosity, that spirit is too often spoiled. Giving thanks requires humility, something we could all use more of. That is what makes Thanksgiving our great national holiday.
In that spirit, I will keep working on my list, bearing in mind John Kennedy’s words:
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
