Christmas, and Christmas Adjacent, Thoughts

I was just sitting in my favorite swivel and rocking chair cup of coffee in hand, looking out my apartment window at the splendid foliage of the ficus against the most always blue Los Angeles sky. It is very quiet even on this mid-city street, as our denizens are still vacationing. At least few people are working.

I woke up very very late (I shall not say how late as it is truly embarrassing), and remain in my memory foam slippers, and mismatched jammies. I suddenly thought "Shouldn't I write something about Christmas, in general, and my Christmas in particular?"

I did have another entry ready to go, about a recent movie viewing "Young Adult" but I had some trouble with the google blogger automatic save and wrote the whole thing only to have it gone. Somehow, days later, it just doesn't seem worth re-creating, which brings me back to what shall I write about?

First, I hope that you who celebrate the season, secularly or religiously, or both, have so far had a most excellent experience of merriness!  Those celebrating Hanukkah---thank you, for your ancestors are the reason that monotheism survived and this holiday was their effort. (Thank you Dennis Prager for bringing this to my attention). Those celebrating any other holiday, or will be, I hope that you have shared or will share a wonderful time with family and friends.

Djinn's Christmas Door

Secondly, I want everyone to know that when greetings were exchanged, I wished everyone I encountered, "Merry Christmas!"  I keep hearing how non-inclusive it is to say that. After all, the person might not celebrate Christmas. Or might be an atheist.  But to this unimportant writer, that's not what inclusiveness is about primarily. It is about everyone getting to do his or her thing, whatever faith or philosophy is yours in a tolerant country. It does not require the phrase "Happy Holidays" although if it is said, it is quite nice and is certainly a phrase appropriately used if one feels like it in covering the pantheon. So, if someone said to me "Happy Hanukkah!"  I would be delighted as she is offering me the joy of her season. Similarly, when I say "Merry Christmas!" I am offering my love, my affection, my joy, my good wishes to the other. It is extending to them the best for them and their families. It is the inclusiveness personified. Whoever you were that I wished "Merry Christmas!" to, I thought with love and affection about you even if I had no idea of your history or beliefs and may never even see you again.

Third, is what it means to me, this Christmas, and I think to those who do celebrate it. I like the material stuff, the secular sidebars, the lights going up and down every tree in the city (noticed more of that this year), the Santa cottages in all the malls, the fake snow spritzing from towers in malls to the crooning of some old time singer, "Let it snow, Let it snow. . . ", the enormous selection of cards and wrapping paper, the 50 percent sales (yeah!). But, perhaps more as I am getting older and closer to my personal reckoning, the idea of God chasing us out of love to the extreme of becoming one of us in the most vulnerable of ways, as an infant, is about as magnificent a thing as could be given, as Handel's Messiah reports "unto us".  So, I went to two masses, one at Midnight, and the other during the day, and helped on the altar and read the extraordinary words of the Bible, and received God, body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine. Hopefully, I am guided by the physical presence within of the "New Adam". That, of course, is a choice, for I have free will. I accept the love or I run from it. I have to think about that because my tendency is to run.

Fourth, it was a quiet lovely evening of Gelson's prepared honey baked ham, scalloped potatoes, veggies, cranberries, at the home of Len Speaks, whose preparation and presentation skills were without peer. We will actually have another gathering in January when one of our number presently in the East visiting his relatives is back to make a from scratch meal.  And tonight, I celebrate "boxing day" with two English friends, which for you literal Americans out there, has nothing whatsoever to do with pugilism.

Well, it wasn't that quiet, I guess, cause we played the home edition "Password". A couple of things in that regard. I learned that suspenders are a synonym for "braces" in proper British English. And courtesy of my Thesaurus on this very computer (all reference books), I have confirmed smarty pants Mr. Anonymous from the deluxe furnished Barbara Judith apartments that "alot" is an alternative to "a lot"! 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all among my group of family and friends and to all of you who are delightful enough to read my ramblings.