bah humbug!

bah humbug!

If I'm truthful... I really dislike this time of year. I want Advent to be Advent. I end up in a disagreement with church members every year about the appropriate music for the season. I'm not crazy about Christmas lights. I think the battle over "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays" just about sums it up. Christmas has been co-opted and turned into a secular celebration of materialism... and it doesn't even happen in Christmastide, it happens during Advent!

Earlier today I was in my car listening to yet one more advertisement trying to entice me to purchase something amazing for a loved one when they went the next logical step... "Indulge yourself too. You deserve it!" Well, frankly we don't deserve it, especially in a world so marked by poverty and need. Second, it concluded the co-opting of Christmas. At least before it was about gifts - giving and receiving stuff - but still about gifts. This advertisement even removed the gift part and made Christmas just about stuff. bah humbug!

And as I said, it isn't the Christmas season yet. It is Advent, the season when we prepare for Christmas. Christmas begins on December 25th. Now is supposed to be a penitential season, a time for reflection and prayer, a time to ready our spirits to receive the birth of the Christchild. It isn't supposed to be busy and filled with enticements to buy, buy, buy. The music is supposed to be soft and contemplative, not celebratory and joyful (after all, the baby isn't born yet). And then when Christmas does come, I want to sing Christmas Carols and celebrate, and everyone else is tired of them and just want to return the gifts for what they really wanted.

So this is my official take on this time of year - bah humbug!