BillLindau

Whatever you think of Christmas, lots of good things seem to happen

This column was edited and appeared in The Moore County Indpendent, Dec. 21, 2006. This is the pre-edited version; too much was omitted. -- The Author
BILL LINDAU
SPECIAL TO THE INDEPENDENT
The United States remains a predominantly Christian nation, despite the doctrine of the separation of church and state. Otherwise, all the government offices would stay open on Christmas Day.
The amazing thing about Christmas, even if you adhere to another faith, is how much this holiday touches all our lives for just one month in an otherwise bleak time of the year.
About everybody celebrates Christmas in one way or another, showering their friends with gifts, throwing plenty of parties and taking off from work to go somewhere. Even people who aren't all that religious celebrate Christmas. Some celebrate even if they adhere to other faiths.
After all, the man whose birth many people celebrate every Dec. 25 said a lot of things nobody can disagree with, such as loving your neighbor as yourself, stop doing bad things to each other such as murder, war, theft, lying and abusing women, children and the elderly, and helping people who are worse off than you are, to name a few.
Whether you are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Wiccan or even a confirmed atheist, I can't think of anybody who travels through neighborhoods and downtown areas at night and does not get a kick out of all the lights, the brilliant decorations and the giant Santa Clauses and snowman. Some call it kitschy, but as one who has embraced the Jewish faith, it's a lot better to look at on a cold winter night than empty, dimly lighted areas. People tend to get bummed out when the mercury dips, and one whole month of twinkly lights really isn't a bad idea as far as I'm concerned.
I grew up as a Protestant, attending church in several denominations until I finished high school, and then I took a break from organized religion for quite a few years. I grew up like most other young Americans in the history of this country, caroling, drooling over presents and going to parties.
Seven years ago, I embraced the Jewish faith, but that has not stopped me from participating in the Christmas activities. Two other Jewish friends of mine celebrated Christmas as well, giving gifts while celebrating Hanukkah during the same months.
Earlier this month, another local Jewish resident and I had small roles in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," a Sandhills Theatre Company production that played Dec. 1-10 at the Sunrise Theater. Marcia had no problems being in a production centered on Christianity. Much to my surprise, I met at least two members of my synagogue among the audience.
Jews don't think Jesus is the Messiah, as Christians believe he is; they believe the Messiah has yet to come. Nevertheless, they consider him among the greatest prophets of Israel, and Muslims have a great deal of reverence for him as well.
I have no quarrel with anybody of any other faith. The Jewish faith may welcome converts, but it does not actively try to convert people, as certain other faiths do. If you have a different view of the Lord than I do, that's fine. All I ask is that you respect my ideas as I respect yours, and no matter how strongly you believe in your idea of the Lord, please don't try to force it on me. I'll be glad to hear you out, but please leave people alone when they're clearly not interested.
Yes, Jesus was a great man. He had a lot on the ball even though he hardly had much more than the clothes on his back and had no formal education. I can think of a number of good things that have happened during the month of December, for the past 2000 and some years, off and on.
For my part, I have noticed how most people are a lot nicer to each other, even when they never see eye to eye. It's a good time to call a truce with your enemies, even if you end up beating up on each other after New Year's Day. One famous example: The Christmas Day truce between the Germans and their French and Scottish foes during the early months of World War I. The French-made film "Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)" depicts that amazing event. The commanding officers on both sides of one battle agreed to stop fighting for that one day. The soldiers spend the day talking, drinking wine and even playing sports, and on the day after Christmas, none of them had the heart to shoot at each other again.
Here's something that happened to me this month. After receiving ads upon ads from two Web sites devoted to looking up old high-school classmates, I caved in last month and bought a year's membership. You had a few weeks free membership, but you couldn't really have much communication with members who have already subscribed.
Earlier this month the site I joined posted my profile. Sure enough, three people I went to high school with checked out my profile. I e-mailed one of them and she promptly answered me. One weekend, I also looked up other people's names on the ever-increasing list. One of the people was a very dear friend of mine whom I had not seen in 31 years and never expected to again. I wrote him and he answered me promptly.
The first person I mentioned that answered me, Susan, was in a class below mine. We knew a lot of the same people and she had a sister in a class ahead of me. For awhile I had a crush on both these girls when I was in high school, though Susan was dating a friend of mine. The last I ever saw her or her sister was the year I graduated high school. Now Susan is living out of state, with a great job in for a wine and spirits distributing company. She has two grown daughters and three grandchildren. We have traded e-mails ever since we discovered each other, even though I had no clue what happened to her after high school.
John was the other one. He was the only student I know of in the history of my high school to attend an Ivy League college (namely, Harvard). He quit after his freshman year, but then went back later. He didn't come back to Moore County that much after 1975. He has worked as a business consultant, even spending a couple of years working for a firm in Japan. Last week he e-mailed me saying he was living in Durham and to look him up the next time I went up there.
I also heard from another classmate who has been living close by. I have run into her in person recently. She was a rather wild kid in high school and a little while after that. Before she was 19, she and her husband got into serious trouble with the law. They both did hard time.
After they served their sentences, they straightened themselves out remarkably. They raised two children and my classmate when back to college. She got both bachelor's and master's degrees and now she is working on a Ph.D. She has been a public school teacher for at least the past 10 years.
I don't give too many gifts and I don't receive any, not even from my best friends or my family members. That doesn't bother me anymore because I know they love me, and they know I love them.
But hearing from those people after all this time was as good a gift as you can ever receive. I consider that a Christmas present. I would not give up any of my friends or family, past or present, for a million dollars.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any other greeting of your choice.
Some of my advice: Give each other plenty of hugs, even if you feel like smacking somebody half the time.
Also, tell somebody, "You're worth the whole (expletive deleted) bunch put together."
That's a quote from "The Great Gatsby," my favorite American novel of all time. The narrator, Nick Carraway, said that to the title character. I've said it to about half my friends lately. You should see somebody's eyes light up when they hear that.
That's another Christmas present I wouldn't turn down.

Labels: Newspaper columns

posted by Bill Lindau @ 5:31 PM