[Magdalen] Home for the Holidays.

[Grace Cangialosi]

Well, it's one of the best analyses I've ever seen...

> On Nov 30, 2016, at 10:32 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> A parishioner of some distinction, now long gone to glory, once attempted
> to explain this.
> 
> He said that you must remember that in the United States, we have two
> separate holidays, but we call them both by the same name.  For ease in
> distinguishing them from one another, lets' call these holidays Christmas
> and Krismus.
> 
> Christmas is the traditional mainline Christian holiday. It is centered
> around the celebration of the coming of God into this world as one of us.
> The celebration, for a lot of reasons, most of which are unimportant and
> not known to most folks, has come to be observed on December 25th, a time
> when the sun is supposedly at it lowest ebb, and is about to begin its slow
> return, to culminate in the Equinox celebration of Easter. That long night
> symbolizes our state prior to this arrival of God into this world in the
> person of Jesus.
> 
> The holiday of Christmas is observed beginning on the night before Dec. 25.
> It is preceded by a season of four weeks of preparation in which one
> practices penitence and contemplates what this coming of God into the world
> means for each person. The holiday of Christmas continues through the next
> twelve days, to Epiphany.  Over this period, we contemplate and celebrate
> the miracle of God arriving to be with us.
> 
> Krismus, on the other hand, is a secular holiday, observed by anyone who
> wishes to do so. It begins around the time of Thanksgiving, and reaches its
> climax on Christmas day.  It generally ends a day or so afterwards.
> 
> Christmas is celebrated, in the time of the holiday, with singing of hymns
> and sacred carols.  Krismus is celebrated by those secular songs such as
> "Jingle Bells", "Gramma got run over by a reindeer", "Santa Baby", etc.
> However, if you're observant, you'll note that most of the standard well
> known sacred carols have been coopted by Krismus. If you hear "Silent
> Night" in the mall in early December, that is a Krismus carol, not a
> Christmas Carol. Sometimes, it's hard to tell....
> 
> Christmas is observed with care for the poor, the powerless, and the
> oppressed. Gifts, if they are exchanged, are generally done as extensions
> of already close ties of family and friends.  Emphasis is on the quality of
> the relationships, and celebrations are low key and quiet affairs.
> 
> Krismus is observed as a competition, to see who can out give the other, to
> see who can eat the most, to see who can have the best holiday spread, to
> see whose bash is the most spectacular, to see who gets the most high
> voltage guests to attend.
> 
> Christmas is a time when extra care is taken to assure that the less
> advantaged have something to celebrate too, but this caring is generally
> shown all year around.  The poor are indeed always with us, and we must
> always be aware of the need to consider their plight.
> 
> Krismus is a time when soup kitchens get turkeys and stuff, and a child
> from a poor family might get some presents, but it's done for show and a
> feel-good thing. It may be the single charitable act of the entire year,
> and folks will think they've done good....
> 
> Christmas may be a time when one has a glass of champagne or wine, and
> toasts to old friends, present and absent.
> 
> Krismus is a time when alcohol anesthetizes us from concerns of the other
> cares of the world. Lots of alcohol will be consumed on Krismus.
> 
> Christmas involves the bringing together or family in love, even the ones
> we don't really understand very well.
> 
> Krismus is the time when the family absolutely has to be together, no
> matter what we think of each other, and even if we fight like cats and dogs
> the rest of the year, on Krismus, we at least don't speak to each other at
> all if we can't be civil.
> 
> Christmas is a time of Traditions lovingly observed and lovingly changed
> and adapted to the present needs.
> 
> Krismus is a time when all those traditions absolutely have to be followed
> even when you cannot afford them, and even if there no longer is a family
> to eat that huge Krismus dinner, just because we've always done it this
> way, and we have to keep it up -- just because.  After all, if we let some
> of our old traditions go, we secretly know there will be nothing underneath
> to constitute anything worth keeping anymore.
> 
> 
> 
> So you can see there are two separate holidays, not just one.  And of
> course, we have been observing them for such a long time that we often get
> them mixed in with one another. We all celebrate both of the holidays at
> different times.  We have the opportunity of being guerrilla Christians at
> the office Krismus party, by going up to someone we don't really like too
> much and recalling something they did that year that was really good, and
> sincerely congratulating them for it, perhaps clicking their glass with
> yours. It just might start a revolution -- or maybe revolutionize the two
> of you's relationship. Christmas has hope. Krismus is basically hopeless.
> 
> I'm sure one could go on about the distinctions between Christmas and
> Krismus, but I've gone too far perhaps already.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
> 
> On Wed, Nov 30, 2016 at 9:52 AM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>> This is not an unique observation, but for some reason I've been more
>> aware this year of the portrayal of the Christmas holiday as extremely
>> important
>> to families but this does not translate into even the slightest realization
>> of the real essence of the holiday.
>> 
>> There are a half dozen series that I follow on television and  Christmas is
>> always featured as very important to the characters, but never is  there
>> any idea of participating in religious observances which are the
>> foundation
>> of the holiday.
>> 
>> Christmas trees and decorations are prominently displayed, and there  are
>> often subplots involving Santa Klaus.  Families fight tooth and nail  to
>> get
>> together for the holiday usually portrayed on Christmas Eve.
>> 
>> I am reminded of the three medical residents assigned to my area
>> over the Christmas holiday whom I observed having a heavy duty  argument
>> over who would be off for the holiday.  One was Jewish, one was
>> Moslem, and one was Hindu.
>> 
>> Such is Christmas in North America.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> David S.
>>