Notes on Christmas

Thoughts on Christmas, now we’ve survived it.

1. I Heart Doctor Seuss: On Christmas eve, my (Jewish) partner and I found ourselves reading “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” I was newly aware that what makes this story so great is its moral complexity. Unlike George “you’re either with us or against us” Bush, Dr. Seuss presents his central character as both villain and hero. Dr. Seuss may be laughing at his grinch, but he also seems to identify with him; who hasn’t sometimes felt their stomach turn and their heart shrink when witnessing this saccharine celebration of purchasing piles of cheaply made crap? The over-indulgence in tinsel, toys, and gorging that grosses out the Grinch is repugnant. His theft of all the ticky tack in Whoville is mean, but it is also a gift, clearing out room for the Whos to remember the real spirit of Christmas.

2. Down with White Christmas, Up with Herald Angels and Satan’s Grasp: When I listen to the Bing-era Christmas songs, I hear the jingle of cash registers. I can’t separate these modern secular songs from malls and mobs of bargain hunters. On the other hand, I’m no Christian, but I get choked up when I hear “Joy to the World,” “Hark the Herald Angels,” “We Three Kings, and “Holy Night” (way, way better than the sentimental pap of “Silent Night”). These songs are serious and sometimes dark. (Note the minor key of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and the reference to freeing us from “Satan’s grasp when we had gone astray.” Not for nothing is this song, and that very line, the background of the ominous last scene in “Three Days of the Condor.”) The joy is therefore earned and real. What they celebrate is the possibility of the redemption of the world through the birth of a child. This is the miracle we all participate in with every birth.

Bah humbug and happy Boxing Day (don't forget the presents for the servants). On to Three Kings Day.