Do you recall from the Bible references to Jesus throwing the money-changers out of the Temple of Jerusalem?
He may have wanted to make a statement more profound than a suggestion for a "zoning ordinance". His statement probably wasn't "Go away for now but come back with a vengence when I die." His statement probably was not about making money off of sacred things somewhere else. But some of them, or perhaps their descendents, made a buck off of what He tried to defend and furthermore off of Him personally too!
Some people believe that there must be "Separation of Church and State" to ensure that we have freedom of religion. But religions often become economic powerhouses, especially after centuries of "donations" accumulate. Do they own the corporations that sell Christmas every year?
What if churches kept Christmas to themselves? What if religions could own the "trademarks" or "copyrights" or "patents" to their holidays, with the stipulation that these could be used by others under a "fair-use" arrangement, for non-commercial use?
The BBC recently asked the question:
What are your worst Christmas presents?Did you get anything you didn't really want? What do you do with all the unwanted Christmas gifts?
Do you return them, throw them away, or give them to someone else?
Tell us what are the most pointless Christmas presents you got and what you are going to do with them.
You can also send us pictures of your useless Christmas gifts.
My response:
Added: Wednesday, 27 December, 2006, 16:59 GMT 16:59 UK
My mother invented a tradition in our family that I am sure many of your readers around the world will want to emulate:
She and I would briefly visit relatives on Christmas, on a very tight schedule so as to maximize numbers of these obligatory visits while minmizing the required boredom entailed with each. After each visit, we would unwrap the presents then quickly re-wrap the ones she did not want so that she could give then to others at the next stops, to end with nothing she didn't want.David Stephen Ball-Romney, Seattle, United States
This year I let Christmas sneak by me. I exchanged good sentiments with loved ones, but I did not exchange gifts. It has become my least favorite holiday, in years past, because of the constant push to buy, to consume, to rush at a frenzied pace through a maze of capitalism.
So what do you do?
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Comments: 2
My Christmas this year somehow lacked the usual tradition and it was - in a word - weird. My kids kept text messaging me things like "This is not right," "This is weird,"and "I miss you."
When we all did get together (at 10:30 p.m. on December 26), we turned a blind eye to the calendar and managed to salvage as much of the holiday as we could. I'd say that the traditions and the togetherness are what's important - and even surpass the calendar if necessary.