Writing about holidays is always a challenge for me. I do not have any specific aversion to holidays, yet I do not seem to hold them quite so sacred as many others. I am not troubled by working on holidays, including Christmas. Accordingly, I have a difficult time gathering the gumption to make long journeys during the busiest travel days of the year. Yet, when working, any time off is worth traveling for (unless you travel for work).
Long before the beginning of the only four day weekend in the standard work calendar in the US, plans start being made. What to do is a challenging choice between parents, siblings, friends, and personal time. With so many interests it is difficult to make plans where everyone is content with their Thanksgiving, and yours. After years of marathon attempts to travel and see everyone, I decided that holidays were time best spent at home, with only local guests. The beginning of these no travel holidays was my last year in Las Vegas.
Thanksgiving was hosted by Denise, with a relative crowd of seven holiday refugees. Christmas was at my house, with three non-travelers quietly enjoying the holiday around my Ace Hardware Christmas Tree that was as endearing as it was toilet brush-like. Thanksgiving was spent discussing what holidays used to be for everyone, why we did not go home, and the usual odd and nerdy blend of science and eclectic topics found only when a group of people highly specialized in one small field gather (5 people were geoscientists, two were in relationships that drew them into the fray). For Christmas, Denise and I had already discussed the holiday memories, so we spent very little time discussing holidays of previous years, and mostly just having a good meal and a good evening.
In the years since, I have not celebrated Thanksgiving in a meaningful way, being outside the US, and Christmas has shrunk from three to two. They are quiet, and without demands. New Year's on these years has sprouted a tradition of watching the Lord of the Rings. This year, Thanksgiving is coming back into my life with travel, and it seems that Christmas may include the hateful ritual of trundling through airports clogged with stressed and angry travelers, who are constantly enraged, moments from physical violence, to ensure that this is the best celebration of peace, love, and acceptance ever.
To many, this will appear a grim and negative view of the holidays. To those of you who choose to interpret it as such, my apologies, for that is not what I intend. What I intend is to encourage that you have good holidays no matter what they include. If you are creating new traditions, sharing time with new people, working, or gathering with loved ones for a ceremony steeped in rituals, I hope you find the holidays are warm. If you are stuck in airports, or facing foreclosure and mounting bills, maybe there is something good that does not require the things or people you do not have. I count myself thankful for the comforts I have, and the choices I get to make, as I know many do not have those luxuries. I hope that others can be truly thankful for what they have, and can let the good things in other people's lives enrich their own.
Today, the sun rose everywhere, from war zones to wealthy suburbs, over those shivering in blankets and those basking on the beach, bringing the opportunity of a new day. To everyone, everywhere, happy Thanksgiving from Faux Social, maybe today we can find the good in each other.
If not, the sun will rise tomorrow.
Long before the beginning of the only four day weekend in the standard work calendar in the US, plans start being made. What to do is a challenging choice between parents, siblings, friends, and personal time. With so many interests it is difficult to make plans where everyone is content with their Thanksgiving, and yours. After years of marathon attempts to travel and see everyone, I decided that holidays were time best spent at home, with only local guests. The beginning of these no travel holidays was my last year in Las Vegas.
Thanksgiving was hosted by Denise, with a relative crowd of seven holiday refugees. Christmas was at my house, with three non-travelers quietly enjoying the holiday around my Ace Hardware Christmas Tree that was as endearing as it was toilet brush-like. Thanksgiving was spent discussing what holidays used to be for everyone, why we did not go home, and the usual odd and nerdy blend of science and eclectic topics found only when a group of people highly specialized in one small field gather (5 people were geoscientists, two were in relationships that drew them into the fray). For Christmas, Denise and I had already discussed the holiday memories, so we spent very little time discussing holidays of previous years, and mostly just having a good meal and a good evening.
In the years since, I have not celebrated Thanksgiving in a meaningful way, being outside the US, and Christmas has shrunk from three to two. They are quiet, and without demands. New Year's on these years has sprouted a tradition of watching the Lord of the Rings. This year, Thanksgiving is coming back into my life with travel, and it seems that Christmas may include the hateful ritual of trundling through airports clogged with stressed and angry travelers, who are constantly enraged, moments from physical violence, to ensure that this is the best celebration of peace, love, and acceptance ever.
To many, this will appear a grim and negative view of the holidays. To those of you who choose to interpret it as such, my apologies, for that is not what I intend. What I intend is to encourage that you have good holidays no matter what they include. If you are creating new traditions, sharing time with new people, working, or gathering with loved ones for a ceremony steeped in rituals, I hope you find the holidays are warm. If you are stuck in airports, or facing foreclosure and mounting bills, maybe there is something good that does not require the things or people you do not have. I count myself thankful for the comforts I have, and the choices I get to make, as I know many do not have those luxuries. I hope that others can be truly thankful for what they have, and can let the good things in other people's lives enrich their own.
Today, the sun rose everywhere, from war zones to wealthy suburbs, over those shivering in blankets and those basking on the beach, bringing the opportunity of a new day. To everyone, everywhere, happy Thanksgiving from Faux Social, maybe today we can find the good in each other.
If not, the sun will rise tomorrow.
I like your thoughtful words. I also like to make choices and change is often included.
ReplyDeleteI "know" you through your mom (I'm another teacher) and lived in Barrow for 12 years- where the sun won't rise until late in January (but we knew it was always just beyond the horizon).
I am sure there are the days in Barrow when it is easy to forget that the sun will rise again. Having only lived much farther south, I have always been reminded of that daily. Yet I always find it easy to forget, and I am only reminded of it when I choose to let another person show me the faint color on the horizon.
DeleteHolidays like all days are what we make of them. With more freedom from religion, they are less sacred for many and give license for foolishness and avarice. This year Thanksgiving was on my Mom's birthday and gave a chance for remembering. With Joyce's skill as a hostess, we shared a moment of joy with family and friends. It seems that is the best that we should expect from the day and with luck and providence it can be repeated.
ReplyDeleteI remember many Thanksgivings at Joyce and Steve's, and many and more gatherings of friends and family that included a basket full of red plates. The traditions from Delta are not always easily understood by those I have met since childhood, but I can usually convince people of the wisdom of Christmas Pizza. The "Delta Family" gatherings have never been without joy, something I attribute to the people who have made those traditions out of the diverse backgrounds that they brought with them when they came together the first time.
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