Cave Man Had a Christmas Tree

Ah, the Holidays are upon us. It's been real rainy here today and the clouds are so low they seem to glide by at rooftop level. I looked out the window and it was getting dark, but it was only 3PM. Today begins the six weeks with the shortest days of the year. I'm going to have a solstice party on or about the solstice. This year in WalMart and other stores (Dollar Tree), I saw Christmas decorations up before Halloween. It seemed to me that I had to get Halloween and Thanksgiving done before I could think about Christmas. Oh, speaking of "Dollar Tree" I know dollar stores are kind of junky and tacky. But I do sometimes shop at Dollar Tree. Because all their stuff is in fact, one dollar. I don't think all the other dollar stores should have stuff for more than a dollar. Unless they change their name. Call it "Family Might be a Dollar". Or, "More Than a Dollar General". We've gotten our first few Christmas cards. They're very nice. Sometimes I put them up on the wall, strung together with scotch tape. I never know whether to save them after the season. When I was a child, my mother showed us kids how to use last year's Christmas cards by cutting them into nice shapes for gift tags on presents. In a pinch you could cut up "this years" cards. Neither my wife or myself are organized enough to save the names and addresses of those who have sent us the lovely cards. We like Christmas cards, but we gave up sending them about 15 years ago. So you won't get a card from us. Sorry. But don't take us off your list, unless that's the rule. Sometimes we get a kind of family "newsletter" in the card. I like this. Where you went, who had a baby, who graduated, who now lives in Manhattan. Some people just hate those newsletters and can't stand the person "bragging". They're not bragging. They're telling you about their family whom they love. If I sent out Xmas cards and had a family newsletter, what would I write? Definitely a lot about my wife and son. My son is a senior in college. My wife won a contest on the TV show "Regis and Kelly Live". I definitely don't like microchip music cards. Sometime in the last five years I gave up Christmas decorations around the house here. The last two years we've had no tree. I used to set up a Lionel train around the tree. Last year we set up Xmas stockings for the three of us and six dogs and the goat and the horse. I love Xmas carols. Last year I wrote a Xmas song, but I don't remember all of it this year. Last year I dropped out of the family "secret Santa" gift giving and all organized gift giving. I don't like the gift giving custom. Some Christians don't like it either. They know their own legend in their bible says that the Wise Men gave gifts to the newborn Jesus. They didn't exchange gifts. What could Joseph get for Mary? She is a God. Really hard to shop for. She has everything! I know it's important for retail and all of us have family and friends in retail. It's our economy. I'll support the economy in other ways and I'm not against giving. I like giving. I just don't like the Christmas custom of gift giving. The pressure takes away from the joy. Don't get me wrong.... I'll give a few Xmas gifts. Last year I gave everyone a hunk of ceder wood. Really. It's all in the presentation. I've got an idea for this year too. Everyone will get one. It costs about $1.50. And there may be more hunks of things from the farm. Christmas is a winter holiday celebration. It is a Christian replacement of older pagan holiday celebrations. But the winter Solstice celebration pre-dates not only Jesus Christ, but the God of Abraham who was Christ's father who was basically a monotheistic version of Zeus. What could be more Christmas-like than the candle? The tree. The lights. The lighted Christmas tree. Is it Pagan? Here's where I can't quite follow the Christian logic. Christians seem to like the tree, and they should. Because legend says that Martin Luther in the 1500's was the one who first lit the Xmas tree. He was so impressed by the stars on a winter's night that he lit a tree with candles. It is also said that he wanted the candles to remind the children of heaven. The green tree combined with the light in the dark winter is surely Christian. But like Christmas itself, it was pre-dated by a much more primitive culture. These primitive folks knew what day in the yearly cycle was the shortest. They celebrated it. So Christians and Pagans join together at the festival of light. The Pagans have a better claim on it. We see our earth rotate around the sun. We measure the days. We celebrate the promise of spring. We don't have to rely on a myth, or a frightening supernatural God who metes out rewards and punishments, or a "salvation" that a select group will receive, while others will be tortured in "hell" for eternity. The sun worshipers had it right all along. Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!!!!! LloydLouITTY :::::+:::::