By Maria Millers
Christmas is the festival that engenders much fervour and more expectations than it often delivers.
Then why is it when fewer and fewer of us uphold the religious significance of Christmas are we still so committed to this festival?
Would it not be better to cancel it and avoid the stress, cost and fatigue?
It may surprise you that Christmas was once cancelled in 1645 when the English Parliament, presided over by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans abolished Christmas outright, along with Easter; reinstated and officially celebrated again after the return of the monarchy in 1660 Dickens in his novella A Christmas Carol (1843) through the character of the once curmudgeon Scrooge showed the importance of generosity, kindness and compassion towards those less fortunate.
In fact through his writings Dickens promoted the importance of celebrating Christmas, however, playwright and Nobel Laureate, George Bernard Shaw famously warned against the excesses of Christmas, describing it as a carnival of mendacity, gluttony and drunkenness “forced upon a reluctant and disgusted nation by the shopkeepers and the press….’ And John Lennon once famously asked, ‘And so this is Christmas and what have you done?’
His song Happy Xmas (War is over) written in the aftermath of the Vietnam War carries a message of peace and reflection. Were he still alive today his words would be resonating with us all.
This iconic song carries a profound message that goes beyond the usual merriment associated with the holiday season.
On the other hand, Tim Minchin’s Wine in the Sun is a foil to all the northern hemisphere references to snow and holly.
He is honest that he still likes Christmas despite its seeming irrelevance.
And his stance is probably shared by many. He captures the ambivalence so many of us feel towards Christmas.
And yes, I have all of the usual objections
To consumerism, the commercialisation of an ancient religion
To the westernisation of a dead Palestinian
Press-ganged into selling Play stations and beer
But I still really like it.
And that’s the point, despite that for many, like Minchin, the religious significance is no longer present, there is still a belief that a festival, however, irrelevant in a predominantly secular society and exploited by commercial interests, is nevertheless needed in an increasingly fragmented society. Minchin looks forward to the positive aspects of Christmas:
I’ll be seeing my dad
My brother and sisters, my gran and my mum
They’ll be drinking white wine in the sun
I’ll be seeing my dad
There is undoubtedly value in taking part in rituals that bring people together around shared practices and values as social bonds between people are reaffirmed. A unifying experience brings out feelings of belonging. Even the difficult parent/sibling, annoying neighbour are tolerated and accepted at Christmas.
The fact that Christmas is celebrated in countries where Christianity is only a minority religion, affirms this. In Japan, Christmas is celebrated exuberantly with decorations, gift giving and the rather strange substitution of KFC for the traditional turkey.
As the world shrinks it contributes to the global nature of Christmas celebrations.
But it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of preparations, gift buying and partying to forget that for many it may be a difficult time and a different experience: the homeless, the elderly, those doing it tough, For them this is not a festival to celebrate.
Homelessness is after all part of the Christmas story as Joseph and Mary found no vacancies at the inns and had to make do with a stable. Sound familiar?
Wendy Cope in her very short poem captures the loneliness of someone one on their own at Christmas.
At Christmas little children sing and merry bells jingle,
The cold winter air makes our hands and faces tingle
And happy families go to church and cheerily they mingle
And the whole business is unbelievably dreadful, if you’re single.
Tensions develop in families over the need to accommodate conflicting wishes.
The absence of family members is felt as more and more choose to travel and not be home for Xmas.
The stress of buying meaningful gifts for family, teachers, friends work colleagues, neighbours.
The notion of expensive gift giving is a modern phenomenon and driven by retail interests.
There are many who can still remember when gift giving was modest.
Food can be a battleground as well.
The move away from traditional fare to food that’s more suited to our climate seems a sensible thing to do.
And the many different dietary requirements whether real or affected can add to the stress.
But a shared table is a wonderful thing, whether it’s traditionally formal, a barbeque or a picnic on the beach.
Without a doubt the celebration of Christmas is evolving into a less formal event and more in tune with our lifestyle, climate and beliefs. In a multicultural Australia we should include all faiths to join the universal values so eloquently articulated by philanthropist/ author Steve Maraboli:‘Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.’
Then we would have reclaimed Christmas as a unifying festival of goodwill serving all of our diverse community not just the retail sector.
Balloons
by Sylvia Plath
Since Christmas they have lived with us,
Guileless and clear,
Oval soul-animals,
Taking up half the space,
Moving and rubbing on the silk
Invisible air drifts,
Giving a shriek and pop
When attacked, then scooting to rest, barely trembling.
Yellow cathead, blue fish—
Such queer moons we live with
Instead of dead furniture!
Straw mats, white walls
And these traveling
Globes of thin air, red, green,
Delighting
The heart like wishes or free
Peacocks blessing
Old ground with a feather
Beaten in starry metals.
Your small
Brother is making
His balloon squeak like a cat.
Seeming to see
A funny pink world he might eat on the other side of it,
He bites,
Then sits
Back, fat jug
Contemplating a world clear as water.
A red
Shred in his little fist.
