So I was watching Charlie Brown’s Christmas last night and noticed something. What’s the “moral” to the story? The thing about Linus telling about Jesus and all. Perhaps. My dad sure likes to talk about how great it is that it focuses on Jesus like that, taking the time to go into another ignorant diatribe about how “the Jews are making it illegal to mention Jesus!”.
But the story continued after Linus’s soliloquy. Charlie Brown was now smiling as he took the tree out of the auditorium, and then came the real moral to the story, one that rings true for a lot of people during the holiday season. When he said this line: “I’m not going to let all this commercialism ruin MY Christmas!”
He was getting all depressed because of how everyone else was celebrating Christmas. Then the reminder of Jesus came, and then came the realization that the holiday can be so much more, so he decided to celebrate his way and be happy because he wanted to be happy, not worry about if the others approved. Sure enough, he decided this and walked out with the tree, and the others decided the little tree wasn’t all that bad. Amazing what a little dignity can do.
Now I’ll be honest and admit the Jesus thing specifically was perhaps the intended moral to the story, a Jesus-is-the-reason-for-the-season thing. Nonetheless, the other, broader message remains.
Basically, what does it matter how anybody else celebrates a holiday? You’ve got people running around whining about the kind of decorations people are putting up, whether they’re too secular or not secular enough, if Chanukah is represented enough, blah blah blah. How are other people spending Christmas? Why are they doing that? THEY ARE DOING IT WRONG!
I think the real question is, how are YOU celebrating? Celebrate your way and be happy with it, and everyone else will do the same. If you’re the only one who puts up a Christmas tree anymore while everyone else is decorating gigantic stuffed dragons, then what does it matter? They’ll do the weird dragon thing and you’ll put up your tree. Why is there a problem?
Are you a Pagan who feels Christmas has “stolen” your traditions? Stop your bitching for a moment and celebrate with your own tradition anyway. You may notice you still can and what anyone else may do with wreaths or hollies is none of your concern. Sun still sits over the Tropic of Capricorn this month, so go ahead and celebrate and quit whining about what those mean old Christmas people are doing with it. The hell does it matter?
And if you didn’t want one of those big pink aluminum cones for a Christmas tree and instead wanted the little green wooden one, then by all means take it and be happy with it and tell Lucy to go fuck herself with that football! :doitnow:
