Since I will be 37 weeks pregnant (full term) on December 27th I am trying to get ready for the holidays early. I only have four gifts left to purchase and I already know what I am getting all of those people. It seems so strange to me to be preparing for the holidays this early but with a baby on the way its probably best to be thinking ahead. Its just a wild guess but I suspect that the closer the holidays get the more tired i will be and the less i will feel like shopping. I am also not really a big fan of Christmas to begin with so its good to get this part over with early this year.
I don't like Christmas for one because I am not Christian so it seems silly to me ever year that I celebrate this holiday that i don't even believe in. If it wasn't for tradition i don't think i would even celebrate the holiday. Don't get me wrong i absolutely love spending time with my family and any excuse i have to see them is a good one! The other reason I don't like Christmas is because with divorced parents it is always a hassle having to arrange schedules with each side of the family and not to mention that my brother and sister each have significant others with divorced parents as well so we have to work around all of their schedules too. Its just a stress full time of year for all of us. I figure the more that i prepare now the more i will be able to enjoy the time with my family, because that is what holidays are all about after all and that's what really matters to me.
All this holiday talk has really made me think about the holiday traditions that we want to share with our children. Although Ted and do not believe in God we have decided that we will still celebrate Christmas it with our kids because lets be honest every one in America celebrates Christmas, for religious reasons or otherwise. We have also decided though that we are going to include holidays from other cultures into our yearly holiday rotation so that our son can learn about all different cultures and decided for himself what religion is best suited to him, if any at all.
I know its a little early for this guys but its on my mind today so...
Happy Holidays!
Christmas was a pagan celebration to start out with, so don't worry too much about the Christian part of it. Although the idea that a child was born to bring peace to the world is a fine one. I like the idea of rotating different celebrations. My co-op house here in Salem, Massachusetts consists of five people: myself (some mashup of the better parts of Christianity, Buddhism, and Paganism), my partner John (gave up Catholicism as soon as he hit puberty), Eleanor (basically Christian background but agnostic), Cyndi (slightly observant Jew), and David (full-tilt Wiccan). It's an interesting mix.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the problem of running around visiting all the fractured parts of your birth families, I think they all ought to just get over it already and have one big party for everyone. At the same time, in the same place. That'd make it so much easier!