Where is spirit of Christmas? Have you seen it?

CookingWithCarlo.com ^ | Dec 3 2003 | Carlo3b Dad, Chef, Author

[carlo3b]

Where is spirit of Christmas? Have you seen it?

I am really getting worried that it's lost and we won't be able to find it in time.

I am just heartbroken, somewhere over the last few years we seem to have misplaced the heart and soul of Christmas. The season appears to be right, the weather has a nip to it, and the decorations have been up for a very long time, and I am constantly being reminded that it's just around the corner, but somehow I have this terribly feeling that something is wrong.

It is more than just one thing that isn't quite right, there isn't any laughter. I can't recall what it was that used to make me smile and sing at this time of the year, but it for sure isn't there anymore. Can you help me find the warmth, and love that Christmas has always brought into our lives, have you seen any joy in peoples eyes?  Maybe it's just me, oh my, is it just me?

I seem to recall that this season was a time that brought everyone together, families and friends, and even strangers. Wait, I don't remember thinking at this time of the year that there were any strangers, only wonderful people that we hadn't had the opportunity to meet yet. People smiled at each other, held the door, men and boys offered every woman their seat, and everyone said GOD BLESS YOU, when you sneezed.

Heirloom decorations were unpacked, families went out together to choose a tree, and that inexhaustible calliope of mystical music filled the air. The smell of fresh pine was abundant in each and every house, and colored lights blinked as kids giggled and whispering and scribbled notes to Santa.

Old folks and children where the center of attention, and picking just the right gift was a very special achievement, well thought out and mulled over for days. Some presents took all year to make, and some took all year to save for. Only a very few were expensive, but all had a special meaning. Gift wrapping was an art, and unwrapping was deliberate and magical.

The center of the community was your neighborhood church, and talk of God, and baby Jesus was the main topic of Grace before dinner, and bedtime stories. Mangers, Santa's, holiday decorations, and lights were everywhere. Snow was a conversation piece, and when and if, was debated and recalled.

Food, ah yes, holiday food was researched, planned, plotted and prepared for days leading up to the big event. Everyone was involved, and everyone had a job. The location of the Christmas Eve party was usually determined by the age of the grandparents, and where they lived in proximity to the bulk of the family. However that was no sure thing.

Each family was represented in the choice of menu items. Every wonderful cook in each branch of the family offered to prepare their own special version of the chosen food. This made for a memorable feast indeed. The competition was playful and fun, but most importantly, filled with love... lots and lots of love and lovers.

This is the time of the year that we built mountains of warm love, enough to store up for cold dark days ahead. If we lose Christmas, who will tell the children about the baby Jesus, who will love you and remind you how lucky you are to have freedom, and  family, and bring memories to the old folks, and memories that you can recall when you are old. Don't let it happen.

Won't you help me find Christmas, I know it's somewhere.. Do you know where it can be, perhaps it's just hiding deep in the warmth of your heart.. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your love. Thank you for being you..

THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.. God Bless you all... MERRY CHRISTMAS..

[deadhead]

[carlo3b]

POLITICALLY CORRECT NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

'Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck, How to live in a world that's politically correct? His workers no longer would answer to "Elves," "Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves. And labor conditions at the north pole Were alleged by the union to stifle the soul.

Four reindeer had vanished, without much propriety, Released to the wilds by the Humane Society. And equal employment had made it quite clear That Santa had better not use just reindeer. So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid, Were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!

The runners had been removed from his sleigh, The ruts were termed dangerous by the EPA. And people had started to call for the cops When they heard sled noises on their rooftops. Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened. His fur-trimmed red suit was called "Unenlightened."

And to show you the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows, Rudolph was suing over unauthorized use of his nose. And had gone on Dr. Phil, in front of the nation, Demanding millions in over-due compensation. So, half of the reindeer were gone; and his wife, Who suddenly said she'd enough of this life, Joined a self-help group, packed, and left in a whiz, Demanding from now on her title was Ms. And as for the gifts, why, he'd ne'er had a notion That making a choice could cause so much commotion. Nothing of leather, nothing of fur, Which meant nothing for him. And nothing for her.

Nothing that might be construed to pollute. Nothing to aim. Nothing to shoot. Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise. Nothing for just girls. Or just for the boys. Nothing that claimed to be gender specific. Nothing that's war-like or non-pacific.

No candy or sweets, they were bad for the tooth. Nothing that seemed to embellish a truth. And fairy tales, while not yet forbidden, Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden. For they raised the hackles of those psychological Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.

No baseball, no football... someone could get hurt; Besides, playing sports exposed kids to dirt. Dolls were said to be sexist, and should be passe; And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away. So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed; He just could not figure out what to do next.

He tried to be merry, tried to be gay, But you've got to be careful with that word today. His sack was quite empty, limp to the ground; Nothing fully acceptable was to be found. Something special was needed, a gift that he might Give to all without angering the left or the right.

A gift that would satisfy, with no indecision, Each group of people, every religion; Every ethnicity, every hue, Everyone, everywhere... even you. So here is that gift, its price beyond worth... "May you and your loved ones enjoy peace on earth."