It's CHRISTMAS - Not Xmas (Christmas in General)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Christmas in General
Date:	09/12/01 (174 review reads)
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~ ~ It’s perhaps appropriate that my very first opinion in my second year here at dooyoo (I joined on the 7th December last year) should be about Christmas, as I am a Christian, and this is the time of year when I remember and celebrate the birth of my Saviour Jesus Christ.
You’ll note that I used the season’s full title, Christmas, and not the currently popular abbreviation used in the secular media, Xmas. Christmas is in itself an abbreviation of the full title “Christ’s Mass”
I use the full title because, for me, this is what this time of the year is all about. A celebration of the fact that God the Father so loved the World that He was prepared to sacrifice His only Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of the sins of each and every one of us.

~ ~ I fully realise that if you are not a Christian yourself, then the above statement has little or no relevance. So I invite you to read no further, and to instead go and read the hundreds of other opinions on this same topic, about the parties, presents, booze, food, top ten lists of everything in sight, and so on.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no killjoy, and enjoy all the trappings of Christmas as much as the next person. But I do believe that the true meaning of Christmas has a tendency to get lost among all the other paraphernalia surrounding it, and in a way, I suppose this an attempt on my part to redress the balance somewhat.

~ ~ The first thing you would see if you were ever to walk into the “mad cabbie’s” hall is a small stand in the corner containing three items.
There’s a crucifix, an ornament depicting the Holy Family, and a large statuette of Our Lady Mary, the Mother of God.
These are not Christmas decorations, but are a permanent feature, and serve two purposes. They serve to remind us that all we do or are in this life is subject to the will of God, and that our time on this “earthly coil”
is short indeed, but that we have the constant reassurance of eventually attaining eternal peace and happiness in Heaven, when we will be reunited with all our lost loved ones, and where “every tear shall be wiped away”. What a promise! Eternal life and happiness. I don’t know about you, but for this fella, it doesn’t get any better than that.
They also serve as a statement to anyone crossing our threshold that they are entering a Christian household, and are, if you like, an open declaration of our faith and beliefs.

~ ~ So what does our Christmas consist of?
Well, we have a wee ten-year-old daughter, and Santa must pay his yearly visit.
All the usual preparations go on, the best of which (for me) is the yearly ritual of the Christmas tree. Ever since my wee lass was old enough to walk, her and I have been responsible for this task, and it is something we both take great pleasure and joy in. All the decorations and tinsel are got out of the loft, and great care and deliberation is taken to ensure that everything is “just so”, with the last task always being the hoisting of the “Christmas Angel” into her rightful position at the top of the tree.
This year will be even more exciting, as a “new” angel has been purchased, who has yet to be given a name. (The old one will not be forgotten though, and will adorn a little tree that my daughter has in her own room.)
Then there is the writing of the note to Santa. (now done on the computer, and emailed!) Great care is taken by Faith (my wee lass) that mummy and daddy don’t get a look at the said note, but little does she know that daddy has her password. (sneaky, eh) Although this year I suspect she knows full well that Santa is a myth, and is simply “milking” the system for all it’s worth
Then there is the hiding of her presents in my workshop at the top of the garden. The correct placing of her Christmas p
resent sack, (which was mine when I was a wee fella) and the yearly debate of what should be left out for Santa’s snack. (off course, not forgetting Rudolph and his fellow reindeers)

~ ~ In years past, I have usually worked on Christmas Eve in my taxi, always being sure to be home in time to see her safely tucked up in bed, before either myself or her mother go out to midnight Mass at the local chapel.
This year will be the first I have not worked in the taxi, so I’m looking forward with relish to Christmas Eve at home with my family.
Christmas dinner will be prepared, usually “Beef Wellington”, as we are not particularly fond of turkey. My wife will make my life a misery by constantly remembering little jobs and chores that still have to be taken care of, and asking me to take care of them.

~ ~ Christmas morning will see all the usual excitement as all the presents are opened, and constant “cuppas” are made by yours truly, to waken myself and the wife up after being aroused from our slumber at some ridiculously early hour of the morning by the wee lass.
Then it is time to go to Christmas morning Mass, which this year will be even more special for us all, as Faith is both singing in the choir and taking a part in a small Nativity play in the chapel.
There we will give thanks to the “man upstairs” for another Christmas together, and thank Him for the birth of Our Saviour, Jesus Christ. We will all take Holy Communion, and at the end of Mass, I will take the time to visit Our Lady’s Shrine (to who I have a special devotion) to give her thanks for another year free of the curse of alcoholism, and to pray for still suffering alcoholics everywhere.
I will make my usual prayers that a permanent cure will be found for diabetes, from which Faith suffers, and ask the Lord for His protection and aid throughout the coming year.

~ ~ Then it is home for the Christmas dinner, aft
er which we will all settle down to play some new game that Faith has got as a present, and later to watch a film together.
This year it will most likely be “Tombraider”, as the wee lass is a mad Lara Croft fan, and will be getting the video in her Christmas sack.
The Christmas CD’s will be looked out and played. One in particular is a favourite of ours at the moment. It’s a song from the early 1990’s by the folk singer (and true Christian) Charlie Landsborough, called “My Forever Friend”. (who the wife and I went to see here in Dublin only last night)
I’m going to close this opinion by giving you the words of that song, as it aptly sums up the way our family looks on life, and on Christmas.

“My Forever Friend” (Copyright – Charlie Landsborough and Ritz Records)

Everybody needs a little help sometime,
No one stands alone,
Makes no difference if you’re just a child like me,
Or a King upon a throne.
For there are no exceptions,
We all stand in the Light,
Everybody needs a friend,
Let me tell you of mine.

(Chorus)
He’s my forever friend,
My leave me never friend,
From darkest night, to rainbow’s end,
He’s my forever friend.

Even when I turn away He cares for me,
His love no one can shake,
Even as I walk away He’s by my side,
With every breath I take,
And sometimes I forget Him,
My halo fails to shine,
Sometimes I’m not His friend,
But He is always mine.

(Chorus)

If you still don’t know the one I’m talking off,
I think it’s time you knew,
Long ago and far away upon a Cross,
My friend died for you.
So if you’d like to meet Him,
And don’t know what to do,
Ask my friend into your heart,
And He’ll be your friend too.

(Chorus)

~ ~ That’s it folks. Th
at’ll be the “mad cabbie’s” Christmas.
I wish you all here at dooyoo a happy and peaceful one.

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