Reflections on the Season of Peace and Good Will (27th Dec.2010)

 

On this seasonal page we so often emphasise things to do with the changing weather and the changes in Nature according to the season, but here in the first month of Winter we find ourselves surrounded by changes in human behaviour because of this thing called Christmas.

 

Let’s start from basics:  Christmas  is observed generally on December 25  to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity.  There is always debate as to whether this date is the actual birthday of Jesus or  the date of the Roman winter solstice,  or one of various ancient winter festivals. The former suggestion accounts for the many Nativity plays that are performed in schools and churches in the preceding weeks. The latter suggestion might account for a reverting to simply celebrating for the sake of celebrating is what, for those of us living in the northern hemisphere, is often a cold and hard winter.

 

Already there have been warnings that this is the hardest winter on record with record low temperatures, down in one place to minus eighteen or nineteen degrees Centigrade. Snow, this year, has come and gone, come and hung around in dribs and drabs locally, while elsewhere in the country it has caused chaos.

 

Just for interest we carried out a simple survey recently and asked people what they liked and didn’t like about Christmas. Here are some of the comments we received:

Things I DON’T like about Christmas:

 The pressure to buy expensive presents , the materialism that seems to have taken over Christmas, Christmas cards, not enough mention about Jesus and the real meaning of Christmas, busyness, the needs that are highlighted in those who have little,  Santa and Ho! Ho! Ho!, house decorations that look like Las Vegas, Christmas dinner, manic rushing to prepare for one day, loneliness, cooking meat at 2am, doing it all alone, being up until 4am getting ready, the cost, emotional memories, bling, over catering, expectations, having to work on Christmas day, brussel sprouts, the credit card bill afterwards, families in conflict, over indulgence with food

Things I DO like about Christmas

 Presents, good food, Jesus, Dr. Who Christmas Special, time with family and friends, greeting cards, fun, love, lights, giving to others, dark nights, cosy lights, children’s faces as they open presents, sparkly things and joy, the Christmas tree, buying gifts for people, going and having breakfast with friends, opening the stocking on Christmas morning, singing carols, decorating the Christmas tree and our home, the magic.

What mixed feelings Christmas generates!

But what was the message we hear in the children’s nativity play from the angels to the shepherds: “Peace and good will to all men.”

 

Welcome to Winter (13th Dec.)

 

Good old Wikipedia blithely states  “Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climate, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice,” and if you’re not sure about the winter solstice it gives us the rather fuller description which we’ll put into note form as:

- occurring exactly when the Earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26' on December 21 or 22 each year in the Northern Hemisphere

- this creates the shortest day, and longest night, and the sun's daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest.

- there after there is the gradual lengthening of days and shortening of nights.”

 

So, in just over a week’s time (21st) this shortening of the days will come to an end and we can start to look forward to the days getting longer - although we won’t really notice it for some time to come! And also, as we’ve learnt from being around this chilly clime for a good number of years, don’t expect it to be getting noticeably warmer until February, we would suggest.  That’s a month which sometimes springs surprisingly sunny and warm days.  There you are, something to look forward to.

We recently asked a small selection of people what they expect of Winter. They suggested - cold, snow, frosts, ice, catching colds or flu, mental tiredness or lethargy (from lack of sun) verging on depression, feeling run down, muddy floors, draughts, cold air by the window, dark mornings and evenings, a desire to hibernate.  

 

Well how to cheer ourselves up a bit? We’ll leave thoughts of the New Year until after Christmas but let’s focus on some happier thoughts. This list will reveal what sort of life you’ve experienced so far and what sort of person you are. In the list below, check out your emotions. If you want to do this as a serious exercise, stop at each one on the list and imagine it and see what level of joy, happiness or pleasure accompanies it.

- sitting in front of a log fire

- hearing a choir singing Christmas carols out in the open

- watching your youngest be an angel in the Nativity play

- joining in the shout of “Oh no you won’t!” at a Panto

- going to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve

- putting on a paper hat that doesn’t fit from a cracker

- winning a game of Monopoly after two hours

- walking after leftovers lunch on Boxing Day, in below freezing temperatures

- shedding a few tears over a Christmas film.

So, OK Scrooge, you don’t have a log fire, you’re fed up with carols, you’re embarrassed by Nativity plays, you can’t afford the Pantomime, you can’t be bothered to go to some emotionally charged candlelit extravaganza in an old church building, you hate paper hats (OK that was the trick one that most of us hate), you can’t stand losing so you never play board games, you don’t like being out in the cold and why be a soft-hearted wuss watching Hollywood trash?  If that is you, you are hereby charged to watch one of the many productions of Scrooge every day until Christmas.  Come on, there must be some things you really enjoy about this time of the year - OK make up your own list then! But have a nice Christmas! Why? Just because it is Christmas!