I vowed not to get stressed out this Christmas, and yet here I am two nights before Christmas and I am stressed out about all the things I haven't gotten to do yet, because my kids are at each other's throats and so worked up about getting presents soon, that they are just a wee bit hyper...I mean more than the usual ADHD craziness that goes on around here. The Dutch have it figured out pretty nicely actually. For Christmas here there are no presents. They do the whole getting presents from Santa Clause on December 5th. Except they call him Sinterklaas, and instead of living at the North Pole, relying on airborne reindeer hitched up to a magic sleigh for transportation and a magical bag of toys that some wormhole connects to a large stash of toys back at the pole, Sinterklaas rides a white stallion. He lives in the balmy climate of Spain, and takes a steamboat up to the Netherlands, which is commandeered by his slave boys, called black Petes (they all have the same name), who also carry the presents and stuff them in the shoes the kids leave out over night in front of their door. That way the Dutch get all the gift giving out of the way early in December and are free to celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ.
So here I am, writing a post instead of wrapping presents, baking special cookies that I know I should probably not be baking anyway, to do a bit of stress relief and clear my mind of the thoughts that have been churning in it ever since I walked my youngest son to his class and saw the Christmas tree and the four advent candles out.
As you may or may not know the Netherlands is a fairly secular country. However, my youngest son goes to a protestant school. They pray every morning. They learn stories from the bible. We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter Day Saints. I agree with a lot the Protestants do, but think that there is more they could know about. However, I am grateful that M can learn bible stories in school. I'm thrilled that the teachers and the whole school gets into the Christmas spirit by making cards and cookies for a Christmas sale, the proceeds of which went to a local charity. The kids help decorate the tree, they learn songs about the birth of Christ, the angels and shepherds, they give each other presents and cards, and the teachers show them how to properly shake someone's hand, and wish them merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I was further impressed by the Christmas programs they put on in their respective churches. I first attended M's and then this morning E's. Both were well attended by the parents, and everyone was enjoying their kids sing about Jesus, reenact the nativity, and randomly enough, doing choreographed dances to Jingle Bell Rock while wearing a Santa hat.
Yes, I said everyone was enjoying and participating, including the Muslims. About a third of M's school friends are Muslim and for E's school I think there are perhaps a quarter. In fact the population demographic predicts that by 2020 there will be more Muslims in the Netherlands than Dutch. Yet here they are celebrating Christmas along with their children in a Christian church. I couldn't help but think of America and what has happened to our Christian country. We have let the Scrooges take over!
Every 24th of December, whenever it was possible I watch A Christmas Carol. If you are familiar with this timeless classic you might notice that Dickens' story isn't about religion really. Sure, he closes with "God bless us everyone"! That includes every congregation, regardless of which God you believe in (or don't). Scrooge (the main character) was unhappy, selfish, and only concerned about profit and wealth. The Christmas spirits open his eyes to what he has been missing. He sees that early in his childhood he was left to study, instead of spending Christmas with his parents. He became bitter and angry. He was so concerned about what others thought of him and gaining recognition and status that he ended up thinking only about himself. The Spirits of Christmas teach him about the joy of giving to others, happiness in embracing merriment, and kindness to those in need. They teach him to open up the curtain he's been hiding behind and embrace the cheer around him. And he does and not only is he happier for it, but so is everyone else.
I feel like America has been subjected to mass-Scrooge-ing. Why do people in the US choose to be so offended by different beliefs and traditions? How come the Dutch can all gather together and have a great time celebrating a Christian tradition (technically a pagan tradition, and lets face it, in America at times a consumer tradition). Happy Kwanzaa, happy Hanukkah, happy Santa Clause day? Who cares. A party is a party. It doesn't matter whether you believe in it or not. In fact, I think that under close examination you'll find that a lot of Christians don't believe in Christ being literally the Son of God, and some celebrate Santa Clause more than Christ, and a lot of Jews keep their tradition because they are, well...Tradition (humm tune to Fiddler on the Roof opening song). Christmas is a tradition of coming together and thinking more of others. Charles Dickens got that when he wrote A Christmas Carol. If I'm invited to a Muslim Holiday, I will happily join and learn about their holiday. In fact, if I ever move to a Muslim country, I will respect and enjoy their holidays with them, and continue our own Thanksgiving and Christmas in my house. This doesn't threaten my belief. I stand firm in my faith. I have several Jewish friends from High school. I was thrilled to go to a Synagogue with my friend once, and I would still love to experience a genuine passover. So I invite you all who do celebrate Christmas: don't be afraid of offending people by saying merry Christmas. The US is a Christian country and it's their choice to take offense. We don't need to let them take over congress, hold protest marches, get people fired because of their non-belief. Don't back down because of Scrooges. Remember, in the end he changed and became the best merry-maker of all. And to you who feel the need to shoot down or glare at anyone who wishes you merry Christmas, feel the need to sue a school, county, or harass someone for not thinking as you do, I invite you to stop looking for offense where only kindness was meant. After all, people are wishing you merriness. They could instead be saying "have a lonely and miserable day off." Just because you don't want to be merry doesn't mean everyone else has to stop having parties. Take offense or take part, that's your choice! A party is a party! And if you want to be a party pooper and go around saying Bah Humbug to everything you don't believe in, I invite you to watch A Christmas Carol this year. My favorite is the Muppet Christmas Carol. Tomorrow morning I will get to watch it with the kids. And with that I leave you, to go wrap presents and practice for our caroling tomorrow night and wish you all a very merry Christmas.
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