Merry F-ing Xmas indeed. I sang some Carols at a friends' party last night and even though they're ecumenical, and it was a Buddhists' idea to do it, I still couldn't enjoy the nostalgia of my youth because I kept choking on 'King" and 'Lord" and 'Praise' and 'Adore' and 'Reign' and all the other dogma embedded in those cheery ditties. It is a slippery slope; if you cede one notion of those old books to the believers- for example, the central notion that Christ was born a savior, died for your sins- you run the risk of having to swallow the whole damn book, or spend your time defining which bits you feel are universal wisdom and which are the detritus of human history. I don't deny there is some good writing in there- good characters, plots, and even some gems of wisdom- but I am not sure I want to sift through a mountain of steaming horseshit for a few (manufactured) diamonds.

About the only tune I really, fully enjoyed was "We Wish You A Merry Christmas", which sums up both a noble cultural tradition of, say, 16th century England (sharing food with neighbors, giving to the poor in your neighborhood) and the ravenous, secular spirit of consumption that defines much of the joy of the modern celebration. To wit:

We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer
We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here

We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


Indeed. Well said, old boy.