AFTER CHRISTMAS

I'm writing this while half asleep so forgive me if it doesn't all make sense.

With my entire family away for the holiday the tasks I set for myself this Christmas were 1) to get story ideas by experiencing loneliness, and 2) to hang out with bachelors and report on the sucky way that I imagined they spend Christmas.

None of that panned out. Friends saw to it that I was never lonely and I discovered that there's a lively bachelor network that takes good care of its own, even on a family-biased holiday like Christmas. Well, live and learn.

Thanks to a friend I did manage to find out about a tradition I didn't know was so widely practiced..."regifting." Some people find themselves with no money at all on Christmas and they get around that by regifting, meaning that they mostly give each other presents that they'd received from each other in former years and promptly put away in the closet and forgot.  Apparently this works fine. The gift you give that's not appreciated is sometimes one you'd liked to have gotten yourself. Re-gifting means you finally get that cool present...it's yours now. Regifters are delighted with their presents and didn't feel much cheated.

Ah, but I do miss my family. None of them will let me talk about them here, which is a shame. I feel priviledged to know each one of them. You'd like them if you could meet them.

I also miss the philosophical discussions we always had during the Christmas season.  Christmas is all about trying to see the best in other people. Democracy preceded Christianity, but it's difficult to see how it could have evolved the way it did, with its emphasis on liberty and a free press, without the benign view of human nature found in Christian philosophy.

Geez, that kid in the picture above cleaned up! What a stash!

And Christmas music...it was nice to be reminded all over again how powerful and moving it is. Geez, people in previous times must have been very attached to that holiday.

And Santa Clause and gift giving....those are genius ideas! The argument that Christmas is too commercial seems unconvincing to me. It certainly can become too commercial, but taken in the right proportion it fits right in to the traditional mood. It makes a sentimental and thought provoking holiday fun and magical as well as satisfying. I love the excruciating suspense that builds up to December 25th.