Christmas Spirit This will be my last article until after Christmas and I want to say, even though it may be harder for some to have the Christmas spirit, I hope they can keep it in their hearts and remember what Christmas represents. It has the distinction of being a dual holiday. First of all, it is a religious holiday and represents the celebration of the birth of Christ along with the story of what his parents had to go through even to find somewhere they could go to let Mary give birth in comfort. It ended up being in a stable of all places. The second part of the celebration has to do with giving, family, friends and charity. Many of us celebrate by having family and friends over and we exchange gifts, and have a Christmas meal. We have to remember some of us can’t afford many of the amenities and do the best they can. Organizations like the Salvation Army do their best to prepare a Christmas meal for those who are in crisis. I am sure God blesses those organizations for what they do and the time the individuals donate to work for them. Some people claim Christmas has its roots in pagan holidays. I just don’t see it that way. It was hundreds of years after the birth of Christ before people started to celebrate by exchanging gifts and being merry. We have to remember Christmas is really Christ Mass. Without Christ is there is no Christmas. This means the most important part of Christmas is the religious aspect. It wasn’t until the Roman Emperor Constantine was in power that Christmas started to become what it is today. When the three Magi tracked down the baby Jesus to adore him they had figured out King Solomon would hurt or kill the baby Jesus so they went back home by a different route. Magi means members of a priestly caste. Unfortunately, today its meaning is Modified Adjusted Gross Income. Some people have been curious about the tale of Santa. His character started with a Greek bishop who is Saint Nicholas of Myra. He was also known as Nicholas of Bari. It is said he performed many miracles during his life. There is a story about his big heart which goes this way. It is said a father who was destitute was going to sell his three daughters into prostitution. Nicholas found out and went secretly to the home and put a gold coin through the window until the father had enough of them to create a dowry for each daughter so they could get married. There certainly are many Christmas movies which are very inspiring. Even some of the cartoon ones pull at your heartstrings. Most seem to have a moral or two thrown in to give us a life lesson. Take the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life for example. This is one of a handful of all time great Christmas movies which I would recommend to everyone. It is considered old today and has two versions, one in the original black and white and the colorized version. This film teaches us not to give up when we get into desperate situations and a human life is worth more than any amount of money. Another is the famous A Christmas Carol. The original is the best one but it really shows its age and is even older than A Wonderful Life. The lesson this film teaches is there is nothing in business which is more important than being loved by one’s family and friends and also we must be fair in our dealings with others and if we aren’t, we could be punished for it. There have been many Christmas miracles reported over the years. One of the greatest Christmas miracles occurred during World War 1. The fighting between both sides was fierce. Finally, Christmas eve arrived. A German came out holding up his hands. Two men were behind him rolling a beer barrel from a brewery on their side. Three from the British side went out and shook hands with the Germans. The shooting had stopped. This must have upset the officer ranks to no end. Christmas carols were sung and beer was consumed. Both sides decided to play a football game, one which we call soccer. Both sides exchanged booze, candy and other items. It was true Christmas giving. Finally, officers put a stop to it. There is no denying this was a true Christmas miracle. It doesn’t hurt to enjoy a few Christmas stories. People were not as forgiving when I was a tad. My mother would lug me every Christmas to a big department store to wait online to see Santa and sit on his lap so I could tell him what I wanted for Christmas. One year when I think I was about 5 or 6 years old I waited in line with my mother and when I got to sit on Santa’s lap I remember my mother getting very upset and running over to Santa and taking down his beard. It happened that Santa was a woman and it upset my mother very much. Cats and Christmas trees do not always mix well. One day I was over at my daughter’s and son-in-law’s house when I notice the cat eyeing the tree. The next thing I saw was the cat jump into the tree and burrow his way to the center. This was a beautifully decorated tree with fancy Christmas balls, lights and tinsel all over it. Christmas balls were falling everywhere and my son-in-law was doing his best to dig the cat out. He finally got it out but the tree was a mess and much of it had to be redone. Just a note about this cat. One day I was house sitting for them watching the cat and dog and they called. My daughter said to give the cat some catnip. I did and the next thing I knew was the cat started to stare at me from across the room and then made a mad charge at me. I had to swat it away. The catnip had turned it into a vicious tiger. I never gave that cat anything again. Let me end this article with a few lame Christmas jokes you can tell your little kids. What do you call a snowman party? A snow ball.
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