What is the true meaning of Christmas?

Christmas cards are done and the gifts are purchased. I am really excited this holiday, but am wondering why exactly. Not to sound like Charlie Brown, but I am wondering what Christmas really is or should be all about.  Yes, smart aleck, it is about the birth of Jesus. I know that. But what does it mean to us... now? Is it "peace on earth, goodwill to our fellow man"? I try for that every day. So what makes Christmas special?

As a kid, Christmas meant a million Christmas presents, along with pigging out on crawfish bisque, gumbo, mirliton dressing, ham and fried sweet potatoes at Grandma and Aunt Barbara's house. The gumbo and crawfish bisque tasted better every year. Then my grandmother and aunt passed away within months of each other, so it was time to decide what my own traditions were. I think that the wrong path taken at this crossroad, in a lot of cases, leads down the road of yearly holiday depression, stress, and misery.

As we have gotten older, the decorating has become more important. Christmas cards with pictures of the kids go out every year. Baking cookies to share means a lot. And of course, making the list and checking it twice seems to become more enjoyable every year. The delight of a three and four year old opening presents is priceless.

Now, though, Christmas is about our tradition. Over the years, we have adopted some of my husband's family traditions. Christmas Eve is his Italian mother's tradition, which includes a dinner of seven fishes. We celebrate with family and friends for the entire day, and then end the day with a sit down dinner for whoever stays to eat. This dinner takes my husband and his mother days to prepare. It is one of the most beautiful days of the year for us - a celebration of friends and food.

Our Christmas day has been adopted from from my husband's family. We visit the cemetary. Then we come home and open presents. My family and my husband's family come over for a day of relaxation with egg nog and champagne. Then we have another wonderful meal - usually prime rib cooked to perfection by my mother in law. A celebration for, with, and of family.

So, to answer my question, Christmas is about traditions that involve love, food, family, and friends. I feel very lucky every year at Christmas for everything I have been blessed with. And that - most of all - is what it is about.

How do you think that is OK?

I think I am going through a mid-life crisis; that would explain this entire blog experiment. I find myself looking at people, emails, and Facebook, and thinking, "How do you think that is OK?"

To Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin - Abraham Lincoln said, "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds." The things people are saying politically lately turn my stomach. I actually was so proud of our country two years ago, and now...not so much. Those who are against healthcare reform, immigration, and gay rights need to think about what is right - not fiscally,  not politically, but personally. How do they think that is OK? These highly public figures should step outside of their world for just one minute to consider how it feels to be sick (or God forbid, have a child that is sick) and not have money to pay for treatment; how it feels to want a better life for yourself in another country; how it feels to be homosexual and not be given the right to marry the person that you love.  These are HUMAN BEINGS we are talking about.

While not being incredibly religious, I do find many pearls of wisdom in Sunday mass. For instance, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." I work hard to make my life drama-free. I work hard to keep peace within my family, amongst my children, amongst friends. Usually not successful, but I try. Some people feel as though they need disruption in order to exist; they cause drama for drama's sake. How do they think that is OK? We are civilized. We can live without turmoil. Let's try it for a while.

And while I am at it, for everyone out shopping this time of year who scream at sales people, bump into my cart, cut in line, and exhibit road rage. How do you think that is OK? I understand everyone is stressed out...we all are. Stop, breath, smile. It is Christmas, after all.

Why the heck am I blogging? (An Introduction)

I always thought that I don't have enough to say to blog. I'm extremely boring.

One day, though, it occurred to me the that I certainly do ask an extraordinary amount of questions - some deep and theoretical (why can't people remember to treat others as they would want to be treated if they were in the same situation?), some not so much (why does my three year old's mispronunciation of words always involve an obscenity like "ass"-calator and heli-"cock-" er?) , and everywhere in between. So I had the idea to try to work through and answer my own questions. What better way to do that, than to blog about it?

And so it begins...