- Mood:
- Music:
I was listening to the news on the radio yesterday - well, half-listening really, as I was reading at the same time (I seem to need to do two things at once 
!). The reporter was talking about how some UK town councils have tried to put a 'politically correct' message on Christmas - how retailers were being told to have 'Happy Winter Holidays' displays, rather then 'Happy Christmas' signs, as this was deemed by 'those who think they know best' as more in line with the thinking befitting a multi-cultural society.
People were interviewed and most of those whose words were chosen to be broadcast were saying that this was ridiculous and "taking PC much too far" and asking "What gives them the right to say what we can or cannnot do?".
And it made me pause to think.
Now I am an agnostic (some would call me an atheist, but I am one of those people who say "prove it to me and then I'll believe it"). But I still like Christmas - at least the run up to Christmas anyway - and I don't think that's being contradictory at all.
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You see, I hate dark winter nights (they make me feel depressed and even anxious), but the bus ride home from work is made bearable during December when I can stare out of the window and see the houses bedecked with coloured lights. Many are decidedly OTT, with enormous inflateable Santas, penguins and Bart Simpsons (
!) and glowing reindeers pulling sleighs across rooftops, but at least they light up what is usually a dim, depressing area. In December, I get home from work and take the dogs out for a walk around the streets and I stare in through windows, looking at all the Christmas decorations. I become a pre-Christmas voyeur and I love it!
And Christmas TV, although dreadfully trashy, will allways have more comedy programs and a 'blockbuster' film or two, and if we are really lucky, there will be a decent rock concert saved for Christmas Eve viewing for those of us who are working into the night, wrapping all the presents we should have wrapped weeks before.
So all of this gives me a sense of cheer and I feel quite generous to my fellow 'man'.
Okay, Christmas has become totally commercialised and everyone seems to be out to make a fast buck from the unwary shopper, and I do hate that aspect of it. But overall the run up to Christmas cheers me up, and that's worth a lot in my book.
I am not a Christian, but I can understand how many Christians will enjoy going to Midnight Mass to celebrate Jesus' birth. I don't resent their religion. I quite envy them their joy.
When I was at school, each year in December we were taught 'the Christmas Story' and we acted it out in our Christmas plays. My children have done the same each year. When they were tiny, they came home and told me the story of Jesus as it had been taught to them. I didn't say "That's not really true", as I might have, because I have always believed it is up to them to make up their own minds. After all, they are also taught stories from Muslim, Hindu and Sikh religions. It hasn't been confusing to them. They see them all as stories and as reasons for people to celebrate.
What they, and I , love about some of the religious faiths we have looked at is the colourfulness and the joy that comes with them. Being a Christain can be a dreadfully dull business a lot of the time, so I don't resent Christains having colourful, joyous celebrations at Christmas - good luck to them; they deserve it! And if the Christmas songs playing in shops and the garish decorations everywhere make us all feel a bit happier, then surely that's a good thing? (I do realise that Christmas can also make lonely people feel very depressed - it has made me feel this way in the past, when I was going through bad times, but I didn't want Christmas banned as a result).
But bringing the argument back to the 'PC' stuff - I think that being part of a multi-cultujral society is a good thing and we should take advantage of it, rather than let it hinder our celebrations. Being part of a multi-cultural society should give us the right to explore each other's faiths and customs and to enjoy our explorations. If we were truly multi-cultural, we would all be open with each other and want to share our celebrations and to show off the joyfulness of our various religions. Surely if people truly believe in something they should be proud of their beliefs? So why hide them away and pretend they do not exist? And if this sounds dreadfully naive in this world filled with religious strife and bigotry, then maybe it's better to be that way?
I've rambled on a bit here about what I like about 'the spirit of Christas' and what I, as an agnostic, believe living in a multi-cultural society should be about. But basically I am trying to say "Relax!" Life is depressing enough at times without trying to tone down the good bits. Let's 'go for them' - big time - whatever faith they come from and make the most of the colour and brightness and simple joy they have to offer.
After all, in today's World of doubt and governemt-imposed fear and confusion, being happy and relaxed is a welcome change.
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