My "Holiday" Editorial

Okay, normally, I LOVE Christsmas. Love everything about Christmas, the snow, the songs, the trees, the food... all of it. BUT, this is really starting to get me irritated.

Christmas vs. Holiday.

What the hell is this all about anyway? Holiday trees? So, what, we put them up for the 4th of July too? Ooh, or maybe for Labor Day! Better yet, Arbor Day! Hey, they're holiday TREES, so why not use them to celebrate Arbor day? Like one of my coworkers said (and no offense meant to anyone who reads this and is Jewish), "We don't call a menorah 'Holiday candles.'" Or, as the woman said on CNN said, "Maybe we should stop calling Veterans Day Veterans Day because not everyone in the country is a veteran."
"The Boston Christmas tree situation is symbolic of what's happening ... around the country," said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel. "Government officials, either because of misinformation, or private retailers, for politically correct reasons, are trying to secularize Christmas. "To rename a Christmas tree as a holiday tree is as offensive as renaming a Jewish menorah a candlestick," Mr. Staver said. (Taken from: http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20051129-120703-5977r.htm)

I told John the other day, this country has become so politically correct, it's offensive. Lowe's, the home improvement store, decided to advertise selling Holiday trees (see this referenced story here: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47634), yet the banner on the front of the store said in Spanish that they were selling Christmas trees. Go figure. "The American Family Association says its supporters contacted Lowe's to express their displeasure. The company responded in a statement: 'To ensure consistency of our message and to avoid confusion among our customers, we are now referring to the trees only as 'Christmas Trees.' We have also removed a banner that read 'Holiday Trees' from the front of our stores.'"

"'It's good to know Lowe's is a company that listens to their customers, a rarity in today's politically correct retail marketplace,' [AFA President Tim Wildmon] said. Wildmon added, 'Since they can't take Christ out of Christmas, many national retailers are trying to simply do away with Christmas.'"

Can't take Christ out of Christmas? Why the heck would you WANT to?! Every holiday has it's basis in something. This one just happens to be based in the Christian faith!

In Boston, the furor of changing the name of the city's Christmas tree to a Holiday tree was intense. "The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot (14-meter) tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.

'I'd have cut it down and put it through the chipper,' Donnie Hatt told a Canadian newspaper. 'If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I'll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter.'" (See the story here: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2005-11-25T225326Z_01_KRA582362_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-TREE.xml&rpc=22) "Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he would keep calling the Nova Scotia spruce a "Christmas tree" regardless of what it said on the city's official Web site. 'I grew up with a Christmas tree, I'm going to stay with a Christmas tree,' Menino told reporters on Thursday."

The following came from this website: http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20051129-120703-5977r.htm
Calling a Christmas tree a Christmas tree has become a politically charged prospect in jurisdictions across the country -- from Boston to Sacramento and in dozens of communities in between.
"It's a growing problem," said Jared N. Leland, spokesman and legal counsel for the Becket Fund, a District-based legal and educational institute. "Celebrating the season with Christmas trees ... and leaving them named 'Christmas' is simply recognizing the religious nature of people. Christmas should be able to be called Christmas."

But enough from what the newspapers and online articles have to say about everything. Thanks to some guy on the raido Friday, I'm even over the use of X-mas instead of Christmas. Apparently the use of that came from the Greek, as the letter Chi (pronounced ki) is written looking like the letter X, and is equvalent to the letters "Ch" in English. Therefore, it was just shortened.
I know most of this stuff is about the difference between a Christmas tree and a holiday tree. That's probably because that's where most of the argument has been. But let me tell you what I believe:
I believe that everyone has the right to celebrate the holiday of their choosing without fear of offending someone else.
I believe that Christmas should (and will!) always remain Christmas, regardless of what people try to do with it.
I believe that people can put a wreath, or a Merry Christmas doormat or a menorah in a highly visible spot and not have to feel threatened by doing it.
I believe that people who see that wreath, the Merry Christmas doormat or a menorah have enough moral values to know they are a symbol of the holiday that the person they belong to choose to celebrate and will respect them.
I believe in Christ, therefore, I believe in Christmas and the spirit of Christmas.
And, I believe that Dave Barry put it best when he said "In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'"

HOORAY!!!

So after a very long and somewhat bizarre week, here's what I have to report on: MONDAY - John had the day off due to the holiday, so we spend most of the day chillin' at his house. I did a LOT of homework that day. But that was good, because it got me all prepped for the week. I didn't have to do much of anything for this week after the weekend I put myself through. TUESDAY - Wake up early to find an e-mail from someone wanting me to come in for a job interview at Seacoast Orthopedic & Sports Medicine, to work in their medical records department, e-mailed back to say I could come in on Thursday. Class (really bad presentation on the legalization of drugs), class (fight with the professor about my schedule, got a homework assignment that was due Thursday), class (got back a test that I got around an 80-85 on, when all's said and done - which it's not yet), lunch (yay break!, class (get back a test that I got an A- on... Every once in a while, I kick some serious ass!), come home and grab the mail and see that my present for John for our 6 month anniversary arrived, and also our tickets to 6 Flags that my parents sent us arrived. Then I went over to Johns for the night, laptop in hand, and played around online at his house for a while while finishing a paper. Then we watched some of the Sox/Yankees game (a real disappointment...), I came home, did some stuff around my room, watched the rest of the game and called it a night. WEDNESDAY - Got up at 6:50 to get ready for my new job. Sounds great right? Well, after commuting 35 minutes and 19.4 miles to get there, I found out that they didn't even have enough work for me to stay my whole shift and that she didn't even know if I would have to come in on Friday or next week. Some new job! I was pissed when I left. Good thing I had a job interview on Thursday. Class (handed in 2 papers, chatted a lot, that's about it - I like my child welfare class), dinner/reading in the MUB (You know, the book Turning Stones by Marc Parent will blow you away - READ IT!), seminar for my VI-E grant (sat and listened to people gripe about their internships). I stopped at Johns house on my way home, that was nice, because I didn't think I would get to see him. Came home and watched the Sox/Yankees game... it's getting old guys. THURSDAY - Class (class for Tuesday got canceled so my presentation got pushed back to Thursday!!! YIPPEE!!!), class (nothing exciting - I still wish they hired someone different for this job), class (exam on Tuesday got moved to a take-home that we're getting on Thursday! YIPPEE!!!), SOSW meeting (stuff happened, then we left), trek to the holistic health fair (free reiki session - that is so great!, free spine screening - no wonder I need to crack my back all the time...), Class (okay, I arrived SLIGHTLY late because of my free reiki session, but who cares - it was so great! Other than that, nothing eventful.). Then headed back to Seacoast Orthopedic & Sports Medicine for my interview, at which I was hired and offered hours from 8-5 on Mondays and Fridays with an hour lunch, and hours on Wednesday from 8-2 or 2:30. YAAAAAY!!!! Things are FINALLY starting to come into place.
So my new job (the one I'm quitting) e-mailed tonight and said they definitely don't need me tomorrow, so I'm going to do all the junkloads of homework that I was going to do on Sunday and then I won't have to think about it! Then Saturday comes and (should the weather hold out) it's 6 FLAGS DAY!!! I can't wait! It'll be so much fun, seeing as how the last time I went was in the summer of 2001.
RCIA is going well, and I like it a lot. I got a new Bible tonight. Deacon Bob made a really neat note of what the Bible is on the blackboard in the room:
Basic
Instruction
Before
Leaving
Earth
I think that's kind of neat.
Okay, that's all the news from this end of town. Bedtime for this kid! Happy trails all!

So Lethargic

So today is a day that I have the whole day off... no work, no class (and I can say no work because I got hired at a new job on Wednesday!!!!!!!) and all I should be doing is homework. So I'm trying to write a reaction paper about a 10 minute video clip that I saw in my SW 622 class yesterday, and it's like my head is in a fog. My paper is coming out so bad! So it's a good thing is a rough draft that I can e-mail the professor and get back and re-write before it's due. Have you ever had to do that? Write a 2-4 page reaction paper to a 10 minute movie? I mean come on! I didn't get enough out of that movie to write a 1 page reaction paper, let alone 2-4 pages.
So anyway, there's that being worked on right now... The other stuff I have to do today? Read the rest of a chapter in one book, read a chapter in 2 other books, read 2 articles and write another reaction paper. And that's just the stuff I told myself I had to be done with today! That's not including the 2 chapters I blocked out to read on Sunday or the 5 page report on Monday or the 2 chapters I have to read Monday or the NY Times reaction paper I have to write at some point too... Thank God that's the easy one!
Anyway, other than being busy with homework this weekend, things are good. John has a 3 day weekend, which is nice, so I'll get to see him on Monday too. That makes me happy :-D Umm... Oh! Hopefully he and I are going to Six Flags New England next Saturday, but I don't know if that is going to happen, since the tickets my mom had my dad mail haven't made it to me yet... My poor mom is convinced they got lost in the mail. She told me to call my dad and find out when and from where he mailed them, but he's not home. Go figure.
RCIA is going well. I'm still really enjoying the classes, and it's nice because I'm thinking about a lot of things that I either don't give enough time to or hadn't even thought of before. Last night I was handed a picture of a police officer in mourning at a memorial somewhere, and I was told to find God in that picture. Not exactly something I do every day, but it was surprising how fast I was able to find Him when I really thought about it.
Anyway, if I really want to get any of this work done, I need to stop updating my journal and get back to work.
Peace!

Yay weekends

Yay for awesome weekends! This weekend was so great! I spend the entire weekend with John (yeah, the WHOLE weekend - Friday through tonight at 9:19pm), and it was so nice. It was one of the most relaxing weekends I can remember! Friday we just vegged, went to Café on the Corner down in Dover, then just hung out at my apartment the whole night. Saturday morning we had pancakes for breakfast! Yum! I haven't made pancakes in over a year! Then we vegged for most of the morning (note: vegging will be a common occurrence in this update), then went to look for a wedding gift for a friend of mine who's getting married a week from today (yeah, I know, I should have started looking like a month ago), then we went to his house and vegged. That night we went out to Olive Garden with Mr. and Mrs. Graichen (aka Dave and Alison) and it was a ton of fun! It was great to see Dave and Alison, and catch up with the two of them. It's amazing though, how quiet I felt I was through most of the dinner though, when they were all talking about music and teaching music and stuff... and I'm like "okay... I should have been a music major..." It was funny, we (John and I) got there at about 5:30, and ran into his friend Nick and Nicks girlfriend. So we got to catch up with them for a little bit, then Dave and Alison got there, and Nick got seated. We still had to wait an hour. Fortunately the food was good. The service left something to be desired, but oh well. Anyway, we got back to my apartment, and John and I were both exhausted... we pretty much fell over dead by 10:30. Then this morning, John had to teach a lesson, so I did homework (or, pretended to, is more like it). Then at 10 I went to his house so we could go to mass together. It was okay, but the priest used the whole sermon to plug the RCIA classes which are starting on Thursday. That wasn't too exciting. The rest of the day we spent at Johns house, I did a bunch of homework and he worked on outlining the new 6th-8th grade general music curriculums. Then he updated some of his RK websites while I finished reading the chapter I needed to read in the most boring textbook ever. We didn't do too much for the rest of the day. His mom made soup for dinner, then we taught her how to play Roll Dem Bones, so that was fun. Then we just chatted in his room about a ton of stuff tonight.
Thi weekend was kind of interesting though... I talked to John on Thursday about this, and now I'm putting it out there for all to know. I'm going to be doing the RCIA classes and Johns mom is going to be my sponsor. She was so excited when I told her/asked her! I am looking forward to them too. It will be a lot to learn between now and the Easter Vigil, but I believe this is something I'm ready to take on now, and will be good for me. I need to ground myself in my faith during this time in my life, and I wasn't getting the "grounding" I needed from the UCC/Protestant church. I've noticed, though, that each week I get a little more comfortable at mass, and I feel like I am getting so much more out of it... I'm not sure why, but it feels like it fits.
Anyway, it's getting late... (I know, 10:30's wicked late!) I'm pretty tired (don't ask why, I didn't do much this weekend), so I need to get some sleep.
Peace and love, all!





580!