Happy Holidays

It's that time of year where posts, ostensibly by "good Christians" are appearing on Facebook entreating people to not say Happy Holidays this time of year.  Evidently the use of the phrase is part of the "war on Christmas," whatever the heck that is. To the people making these posts I say Bah Humbug!

The use of the phrase Happy Holidays started in the 1890s.  Yes, those redoubtable Victorians who wholeheartedly embraced the Christmas season we celebrate today (minus Black Friday and Cyber Monday) used Happy Holidays throughout the entire Christmas Season.  The phrase was made more popular with the Irving Berlin Song and the movie Holiday Inn.  It picked up traction in the 1970s.

Between Thanksgiving and 12th Night or Epiphany there are a plethora of holidays.  In no particular order to the calendar here are just a few:  Thanksgiving, Advent, Bodhi Day, St. Nicholas Day, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Lucia's Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day (St. Stephens Day), Pancha Ganapat, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Yule, New Year's Eve, Hogmanay, New Year's Day. I know there are holidays I left out, but I'm sure you get my drift.

So, to the people who get on their collective high horses about the use of Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas, I say "get over your collective selves"! And, be glad you live where you can freely say Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Good Yule, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or nothing at all.

Happy Holidays!!!

A Small Rant

When did it become acceptable for a bride and groom to send a cheesy photo of themselves holding signs that say "thank you" instead of writing thank you notes?  I recently saw one of these photos and was disgusted by the lack of good manners.

Were I to ask either the bride or the groom (neither of whom I know) why they couldn't be bothered to write thank you notes, I probably would have been told they are just "too busy".  Too busy? Seriously?

Were the people who received the invitations to your wedding "too busy" to open them?

Were the people who sent RSVPs "too busy" to put them in the mail?

Were the people who bought gifts or wrote a check "too busy" to do this for you?

Were the people who came from out of town "too busy" to travel to your wedding?

Everyone who attended your wedding has a life.  They have jobs, routines, responsibilities, and things to do - and yet, they set aside time out of their lives to attend your wedding. They could have been doing other things or even just enjoying downtime; but they got dressed up, left their homes, and went to your wedding.

And you repay them by sending a "thank you" photo. You should be ashamed of yourselves.  While sending these pictures may be considered "cute" or "trendy" by some, the majority of people who receive them think you are just lazy.  And they wonder, do you even know what they gave to you? And they also may wonder why they wasted the time and money to attend your wedding when you obviously thought so little of them you couldn't even be bothered to write a thank you note.

Shame. On. You.

The Heavens

This evening "D" called me to the kitchen to look out the windows at the moon. She was a beautiful and bright crescent. We both went out onto the deck to take photos, but nothing I took came out well. Since it was so clear and lovely I sat out for a while watching the sky.

There were so many stars winking at me it made me smile the entire time I was out there. I know there were planets in and among the stars, also a plane or two went by very high up, possibly a satellite as well. And, always UFOs!  But the nice aliens, not the ones to want take over our planet.

As I watched the night sky I thought about how alone we are. We sit on this little blue rock in the vastness of our galaxy, not to mention the universe, and all we do is fight. And hate. And become so incredibly ugly. Why?

I get caught up in all this nonsense at times, writing in anger or disgust over things others post online. When I surface from these ugly conversations, not wanting to ingest any more of the bile that is spewed, I wonder why I let myself get drawn into these things. Human nature? I do believe I am better than this. I know I was raised better than this.

This rock,the third rock from the sun, is all we have. And we are all we have. The worse enemy of any one of us, when cut, will bleed the same colour blood that I do. This enemy has the same organs that I do. But, this enemy has decided to hate me because of my __________(fill in the blank). And when my enemy or I die that's it for us. We're done. Finished. Through. All the time we wasted in hating has done nothing. We hate out of fear, or anger, or ignorance. Why?  I don't want to hate anyone, not even my worst enemy. Hate, for me, is a dead-end street. I'm not excusing all the vile things that are done by vile people. I'm not some sort Pollyanna or trying for sainthood. I'm saying that in my own very small way I am choosing, for whatever time I have left on this blue rock hurtling through space, that I am going to try my level best to be a nice person. That's it - just be nice.

Some days will be harder than others. I will, at times, probably show my middle finger to drivers who do insanely stupid things that nearly cause an accident. I will probably still yell at politicians in their 30second sound bites when they say something I find egregiously stupid. I will still get irritated over things too numerous to discuss. But, in all of this, I am still going to try to be nice. I'm not going to allow myself to get caught up in conversations online or in person that, in the end, can only cause harm to my well-being. I am not going to get caught up in all the drama that most people call "real life".

And when I falter, I am going to go back out on my deck and allow the moon and the night sky restore me to my better self.