Note to Christmas Haters - Give it a rest!!

[tymejumper]

One of my best friends was jewish that I grew up with. I went to Passover supper and also Haunaka celebrations. I tried to recite Hebrew and wash my hands as is custom, they all laughed at me when I made a mess of it!

We all celebrate in our own way, that is pretty ignorant that others would get mad if you wished them Happy Haunaka. I guess that you can't change peoples minds once they make them up always! So Happy Haunaka to you!

[Rick336]

A friend of mine that lives in Minneapolis is Jewish and he celebrates Chanukah. (He spells it with a "C"). His partner is Christian who celebrates Christmas. They have an adopted son and also a daughter who lives with them.

The whole family celebrates both holidays plus New Years. So basically all they do in December is exchange gifts, eat, and celebrate.

Sounds like fun.

Rick

[Here2Learn22]

Well thanks for the well wishes! Oh by the way you can spell it with a C or H. It doesn't really matter anyway.

[Rick336]

I drove around town tonight and looked at people's Christmas lights. They were gorgeous. I love how even straight rednecks want to make their house look gay.

I love this time of year.

Rick

[tdogg]

We are doing that tonight Rick. Getting together with another couple, having a Spaghetti Factory dinner and then driving around to see christmas lights. It should be a nice night, no rain! (Last time we did this, it poured )

[Rick336]

They've come out with a new kind of Christmas lights called LED lights. There's a man down the street from me who has covered three twelve-foot evergreens in his front yard with these blue LED Christmas lights and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The other night I walked down to his house and stood in awe staring at his display.

Another house not far from me has a 60 foot hemlock covered in colored lights. It's an awesome sight for sure. I often wonder how he gets the lights to the top of that huge tree.

Last Tuesday night when I was outside plugging in my Christmas lights, a brass band from the Moravian church up the street came by and stood on the corner and played Christmas carols. It was a Norman Rockwell moment.

Rick

[tymejumper]

Ellie and I went and wrapped all the kids gifts Saturday night. It was our 'hot' date!

We didnt have alot of money to spend, so they didn't get much. She works for the automotive industry, and they started layoffs. We are watching our bills very closely. Of course the kids know this and are a bit freaky about it. Will they have food? will they have a house?. Of course we can make it on my income alone but it will be tight.

We decided to talk to the kids more about what we can do to serve others and spread Christmas Spirit and Cheer and less about gifts/money. More about being grateful for what we have and seeing that we have each other. We started a gratitude box and we are going to volunteer at a soup kitchen next year, when our youngest is a bit older.

We also have put them in charge of finding free or cheap things to do around here. We are keeping our traditions and taking them to see the lights. When you focus on what is important, family and love, it really makes the hoiliday sweet. I think our original guy forgot about that, it's why he sounds so bitter.

[tdogg]

We saw one house, full of amazing lights all played to the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was truly amazing and of course, I did not bring my video camera!! We may possibly revisit that one Christmas eve.

[Rick336]

Originally Posted by tymejumper

We decided to talk to the kids more about what we can do to serve others and spread Christmas Spirit and Cheer and less about gifts/money. More about being grateful for what we have and seeing that we have each other. We started a gratitude box and we are going to volunteer at a soup kitchen next year, when our youngest is a bit older.

We also have put them in charge of finding free or cheap things to do around here. We are keeping our traditions and taking them to see the lights. When you focus on what is important, family and love, it really makes the holiday sweet.

Wow. That sounds like a wonderful Christmas.

The old cliche that it's better to give than to receive is actually backed up by science. A study has found that the simple act of giving to others increases the serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a brain chemical that effects mood. The more serotonin, the better the mood. In other words, giving to others boosts the Christmas spirit.

I love what Bill Murray says in the movie Scrooged about giving at Christmastime:

It’s Christmas. You can call people you haven’t seen. You can call a college roommate. You can call an old army buddy. You can call your personal banker. It’s the one time of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more, we are the people that we always hoped we would be. It’s a miracle because it happens every Christmas. You have to take a chance, you have to get involved. There are people who are having trouble making it. There are people who don’t have enough to eat. There are people that are cold. You can go out and say hello to these people. You can take an old blanket out of the closet and say, “here.” You can make them a sandwich and say. “Oh, by the way, here. I get it now.”

If you give then the miracle can happen to you. It’s not just the poor and the hungry, it’s everybody. You got to have this miracle. If you believe in this spirit thing then the miracle can happen and you’ll want it to happen again tomorrow. You won’t be one of these bastards who says. “Christmas is once a year and it’s a fraud.” It’s not. It can happen every day. You just got to want that feeling. And if you like it and you want it, you’ll get greedy for it. It’s great. It’s a good feeling. It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time.”

Merry Christmas


Rick