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bloodyrosemccoyHappy Solstice, everyone! I think it’s cool to remember that the reason we have all these holidays right around now is the 23° axial tilt of our planet in its orbital plane, which causes uneven sunlight through the year. This is the time where the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, and it’s dark and cold and so people throw a party to keep from going nuts. It’s also nice to reassure ourselves here in the Northern Hemisphere that at this point every year the sun stops moving south and starts coming back.
People can piss on all they want about Christmas being about Christ, but in reality Christmas is one in a big family of parties conceived as a way to stave off cabin fever and acknowledge the cycle of the year brought on by a huge, complicated orbital system. The dressings and meaning we give it are varied and magnificent.
And just to mark it down, have two instead of one since I missed yesterday:
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
The angel my friend sent me from Rome one year. It arrived with a broken wing, but we fixed that right up.
I want to put a Mario Power Star up there once I can find a star with the right look I can add eyes to.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Funny, this just got discussed elsewhere.
I am not unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas Eve opening—Dad told us some stories of going to Evening Mass and an uncle or his dad having to run back home to get something. They’d always be just waving good-bye to Santa as Dad and his sisters got home. Took the kids years to figure it out.
Even so, I fall into the category that you open Christmas presents on Christmas, by damn. We do not give Christmas Eve presents.* Partly this was the Santa tradition—my parents, Dad especially, were all over the Santa business. You get one present Christmas Eve, and it’s pajamas.** First off, it makes Christmas more interesting than just sleeping, and secondly, it allows for maximized cheerful anticipation, and minimizes the obnoxiousness of having to wait all through Present Day.
Granted, now that we are in College Kid Perpetual Jet Lag, “Christmas Morning” is around two in the afternoon. Our parents have to get us up. But hey, at least we get to open them as soon as we wake up!
Also, Santa's still a big part of it. Kinda. Presents are understood to be Santa presents in a nebulous sort of way, signalled by having been put there overnight. I have to admit, I remember having more fun with midnight Santa visits after I figured out he wasn't real, because I got to join on the present placement.
*Although this year, due to scheduling setbacks, I may actually be giving out New Year’s presents. Or, in one notable case, an Easter present.
**My mom just discovered that everyone does this.
People can piss on all they want about Christmas being about Christ, but in reality Christmas is one in a big family of parties conceived as a way to stave off cabin fever and acknowledge the cycle of the year brought on by a huge, complicated orbital system. The dressings and meaning we give it are varied and magnificent.
And just to mark it down, have two instead of one since I missed yesterday:
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
The angel my friend sent me from Rome one year. It arrived with a broken wing, but we fixed that right up.
I want to put a Mario Power Star up there once I can find a star with the right look I can add eyes to.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Funny, this just got discussed elsewhere.
I am not unfamiliar with the concept of Christmas Eve opening—Dad told us some stories of going to Evening Mass and an uncle or his dad having to run back home to get something. They’d always be just waving good-bye to Santa as Dad and his sisters got home. Took the kids years to figure it out.
Even so, I fall into the category that you open Christmas presents on Christmas, by damn. We do not give Christmas Eve presents.* Partly this was the Santa tradition—my parents, Dad especially, were all over the Santa business. You get one present Christmas Eve, and it’s pajamas.** First off, it makes Christmas more interesting than just sleeping, and secondly, it allows for maximized cheerful anticipation, and minimizes the obnoxiousness of having to wait all through Present Day.
Granted, now that we are in College Kid Perpetual Jet Lag, “Christmas Morning” is around two in the afternoon. Our parents have to get us up. But hey, at least we get to open them as soon as we wake up!
Also, Santa's still a big part of it. Kinda. Presents are understood to be Santa presents in a nebulous sort of way, signalled by having been put there overnight. I have to admit, I remember having more fun with midnight Santa visits after I figured out he wasn't real, because I got to join on the present placement.
*Although this year, due to scheduling setbacks, I may actually be giving out New Year’s presents. Or, in one notable case, an Easter present.
**My mom just discovered that everyone does this.
