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What does Christmas mean to you?
Christmas has changed in my lifetime and I'm not sure it's all for the better. The religious aspect has pretty much vanished (I haven't had a single religious Xmas card so far this year); if we get any carol singers, the odds are that they'll only be able to sing 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer' and none of the decorative lights I've yet seen have any religious aspect to them.
These, in themselves, don't bother me (though I much prefer the traditional carols), but what I do miss is what has gone with them. [Unknown site tag] An important aspect of Christmas to me has always been the desire for reconciliation, forgiveness and making peace. It was a time when you made a genuine attemt to end old arguments, reach out to people you would normally dislike and try to make contact. (It was the time when my next door neighbour's wife and I would exchange cards in spite of the fact the her husband and I did not get on at all. That brief contact each year was enough to enable me to reach out and help her when she was badly distressed after her son's car got vandalised.)
Where has that cultural desire for peace and forgiveness gone? I don't see it any more.
Could the Christmas Truce of World War 1 ever happen in today's world? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
If I've hurt or offended anyone reading this, then this is the time of year to tell me about it and see if I can put it right.
These, in themselves, don't bother me (though I much prefer the traditional carols), but what I do miss is what has gone with them. [Unknown site tag] An important aspect of Christmas to me has always been the desire for reconciliation, forgiveness and making peace. It was a time when you made a genuine attemt to end old arguments, reach out to people you would normally dislike and try to make contact. (It was the time when my next door neighbour's wife and I would exchange cards in spite of the fact the her husband and I did not get on at all. That brief contact each year was enough to enable me to reach out and help her when she was badly distressed after her son's car got vandalised.)
Where has that cultural desire for peace and forgiveness gone? I don't see it any more.
Could the Christmas Truce of World War 1 ever happen in today's world? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce
If I've hurt or offended anyone reading this, then this is the time of year to tell me about it and see if I can put it right.