I can't even imagine Christmas without recalling the story of the Nativity (above, click to enlarge), and the life and death of Christ, which is the great story which for 2000 years has been the heart of Western civilization.
I'm always amazed when fans of art seem to have no time for pictures like the ones on this post. There's always time to stop and admire a devil mask from Pago-Pago, but no time to admire the masterpieces of our own culture.
You would think that the event that would be most remembered in Christ's life would be The Sermon on the Mount which, along with the Ten Commandments, Pericles' Funeral Oration, the Magna Carta, and the Bill of Rights, was one of the foundations of the Western notion of freedom. You would think so, but the events that most inspired artists had to do with themes like birth and death. I guess the heart has its own agenda.
The New Testament only briefly mentions the reaction of Mary to her son's torture and death, but tradition fills in the gap, and most of us have a vivid mental picture of what she must have looked like when she held her son's corpse in her arms.
But maybe I'm getting morbid. That wasn't my intention. I hope everybody reading this has a Wonderful Christmas and a very, very Happy New Year!
BTW: I included The Sermon on the Mount in the list because the high ideals it contains, together with their widespread acceptance, inspires me to believe that my fellow man can handle freedom. I just assumed that what inspired me inspired others as well.
Boy, there sure are a lot of curmudgeons (above) out there! The whole idea of Christmas infuriates them!
Curmudgeons are organizing (above)! One of my favorite Christmas pastimes used to be needling curmudgeons and trying to make them feel guilty, but It's getting hard to do that now. They're fighting back. I read in a magazine that they even wear buttons with sayings like, "I'm not cheap, I'm principled!"
They circulate weird Christmas cards with pictures of armed animals, who intend to shoot down Santa.
Geez, poor Santa's going to have a rough time getting through this year.
Well, I'm going to celebrate Christmas just as I always do: with food, presents, and a cultivated air of smug moral superiority that'll make my curmudgeon friends grind their teeth.
Today I considered making a curmudgeon Christmas tree as a gift for these friends. It would be an artificial tree painted black with ornaments consisting of dead fish or pictures of Scrooge kicking orphans. Aaaargh! It's too late. Maybe next year!
I have a Santa Claus costume in the closet. Let me tell you, as soon as you put that thing on, you become a chick magnate!
I think I'll experiment this Christmas. Maybe I'll try a bottomless tree (above).
No, I need something more hip than that.
This (above) one's too hip...too much trouble.
Ah, now THIS (above) is a do-able hip tree! Tinker toys make great trees!
While I was looking for a picture of a Tinkertoy tree, I stumbled on this photo(above). Believe it or not, this (above) is Wilbur and Orville Wright's Christmas tree, dating from 1900, only a few years before the famous flight. The tree is the kind of tall, sparse, fragrant evergreen that was popular up until recent times when the full, bushy look took over. Look at the presents! I notice that bundles are more common than boxes, and the wrappings are plain...no fancy wrapping paper!
Here's (above) a detail of the picture above. Click to enlarge. I think I see a small rifle back there, and some doll house furniture and a tiny tea set. Are there candles on the tree? I can't see.
Before long I stumbled on another tree picture (above), this one from the 30s. This one looks like the kind my dad said he played under when he was a kid. Notice the big, metal electric trains with bridges and out-of-scale little houses and fences. The big trains were great because they were heavy and didn't jump off off the tracks all the time like the light ones do now. You could also cram a lot of toy soldiers into them. Then as now, Christmas and war toys just naturally went together.
I think the electric lights on the tree were the big bulb kind that are only used for outdoor lighting now. If there's tinsel, it's probably the vertical icicle variety. I like modern Christmas trees. They're thick and bushy the way artists like to draw them. They're not fragrant, which is a shame, but they do look friendly and cozy, and they work well with small indoor lights.
Well, enough goofing off! It's time to get back to cleaning the house for Christmas... but don't go yet! I have presents for everybody! I have to warn you that these are pretty primitive presents...actually, downright lame is what they are. They're tricks for fooling little kids! Watch the videos then find a kid and try them out!
OK, I warned you that these were going to be lame tricks!
A long time ago I pulled both these Penn & Teller tricks on my kids and they just about fell down and worshipped me as a white god. Of course they were at the age when I could wow them by making the supermarket door open just by waving my hand and walking in. Gee, kids sure are gullible!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!! See you on the 27th!
BTW: I got a Love Nerds submission from Jennifer, which I'll post right now!
