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Home  At Length Under the Tree -- Oh, Tannebaum
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Under the Tree -- Oh, Tannebaum |
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Written by James Preston Allen
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Thursday, 25 December 2008 |
Christmas has always been problematic for Americans, from the time of the Pilgrims certain Christian sects just didn’t quite believe in celebrating it, as its true foundations aren’t really about the birth of Christ but more likely the pagan ritual of the winter solstice. The Germans or sosme other northern Europeans started dragging pine trees in doors at some point to memorialize life in the face of the death of the winter cold. And Saint Nicholas, far from enhabiting the North Pole in a red suit with flying reindeers was in fact based on one of the most beloved yet nonbiblical Greek saints – the bishop of Myra from the fourth century in what is now Turkey.
Now the entire concept of Christmas comes to us as a snowball of native traditions that were basically usurped by the Catholic church starting with Pope Gregory I around 600AD and incorporated into religious ceremony as it expanded into northern Europe. No wonder certain Protestant sects, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses still avoid the trappings of Christmas. (For more than you probably care to read on the subject read, Christmas, A Candid History by Bruce David Forbes, University of California Press, 2007)
For myself Christmas has always been a bit confusing because of its proximity of my birthday as it has meant a doubling of gifts, or a halving of them, for me but sharing the week with this other guy Jesus. And why do we celebrate his birthday by giving other people gifts? Then there are all of these Christmas carols like “O Tannebaum”, which as a child I had to learn in both German and English, for some elementary school program. Let’s face it though Christmas is mostly for the kids and for the child in all of us who waits to see what’s under the tree, and the food, drink and camaraderie with our fellow man – even if some of them happen to be relatives who we preferably only see a couple of times a year.
I think that I prefer to look at The Holidays starting with Thanksgiving and lasting through to New Year as a month long celebration of diversity punctuated with various religious festivals including the Puritan Feast, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and my birthday, the last one secular. It is a kind of fattening up of body and mind to face the dreary winter– a cultural survival plan that in better times plays out to some $200 billion in consumer spending. And no matter how people may try to bring these celebrations back to what (?) something more spiritual, it is basically much more carnal and pagan affair.
However, in the spirit of giving this year and perhaps in solidarity with one lone Iraqi/Egyptian journalist who probably won’t be celebrating Christmas this year after having a fling at our out going President, I am sending an old boot to the Resident of the White House ( See adjoining display). With a suggestion that after he leaves our Capital that he never comes back! Some found this unrestrained expression of disgust against Bush both offensive and inappropriate; many more have applauded saying that Bush has a lot more than an old shoe coming to him after what he has done in the name of our country and to the shame of the office. I am sure that a few of you will tell me which side you are on later. However, I think it took a great deal of courage to express this outrage at such an ordinary man, our President, who wheels such extraordinary power so unwisely.
I imagine in my vision of the spirit of Peace On Earth, that even though George W. can still duck a size ten shoe in a press conference it would be hard to miss 10,000 old boots, or perhaps 10 million if it catches on, sent directly to the White House in his honor. One symbolic act of defiance against this corrupt and idiotic regime would go a long way to raise some spirit of universal peace-of-mind if not a last hurrah and an exclamation point to the salutation “good riddance”!
Even though President Elect Obama has admonished that there is only one president at a time in this country, it was Congressman Barney Frank who quipped, “it appears as though he is over stating the situation by one”. And it seems to be true, there is neither a Santa Clause or a president under the Capital tree this year.
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