A Christmas Thought
A Christmas Thought…
Well here we again. That certain time of year when the religious among us get all misty eyed and the more secularist members of our community get pretty tipsy and sing loudly and out of key!
Is that it though? Aside from the expense which we all regret come January, what does this orgiastic extravaganza of indulgence mean to the wider whole? For myself, as a non believing type of chap, I absolutely love the season. I always have and always shall. For me it is a bittersweet time being as far away from my family as I am.. and yet, I still feel the warmth and nostalgia of those Xmases of old when I viewed the world through less cynical eyes and every brightly lit corner held a cacophony of sweet smells and wrapped delights.
Were my childhood Xmases really like that? No, not really. I discovered the mythic nature of Father Christmas/Santa early on and was pretty much unmoved by the whole nativity thing even as a child; plus more than one Christmas was an arduous time of putting up with an overly religious, sanctimonious great aunt who smelled of pee and sherry in equal measure. She would preach and scratch at her almost translucent skin and every time her jaw moved, her false teeth would play catch up. I dreaded her arrival every year. Yet, somewhere along the way, even though those times were hardly fairy dust and cinnamon flakes, I seem to have absorbed some of the much sought after Victorian Christmas ethos.
The dark, long, cold nights, ghost stories told around an open fire and a mysterious warm and fuzzy feeling so tangible and yet so out of reach as to be tantalizing enough to hold within me to this very day.
Yes, strangely, I get possessed of a fairly Dickensian ideal of Xmas. It has not diminished over the years and plays host to my inner child every end of December. This is the only time of year when I can listen to Carols and ignore the religiousity of it all and just be carried away with the tuneful, soaring lilt of a fine chorister.
Does it make sense? No of course not .. the reality is that millions of people all over the place are starving, disenfranchised and miserable at this and every other time of year. The poignancy of the dichotomy of the festive season is with me too. Ultimately, I suppose I am being self delusional harking back to times and feelings that never were, but for a very brief moment in time.
And yet, it’s mine, my private grotto where at least for a while, I can enjoy stuff like The Pogues, Fairy Tale Of New York, Jona Lewie, Wizzard, get drunk; half sing and shout Slade’s rousing Xmas anthem and, most magical of all put aside my usual skeptical frame of mind and embrace the celebratory mood of it all.
As Greg Lake said, “The Christmas we get we deserve”. I may be a heathen. I may be many things but this year as in the past I will be my inner child once again. Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice! Whichever you prefer.. I hope a good time is had by one and all! I hope you are with the ones you love, and if not that soon you shall be.
Nadolig Llawen!!
