Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Festival Times

Lynn on Christmas:

Fillyjonk calls the week after Christmas “the quiet week at the bottom of the year.” I like that. It’s so much better than thinking of it as “the big letdown after Christmas” or the week of “thank goodness it’s over” which seem to be the two most common ways of thinking about it. I think a lot of people just don’t know how to handle quiet times when there’s not a lot to do so they start thinking too much about the wrong sort of things and get depressed.


I don't like thinking of Christmas as a let-down either, but it's hard not to get that feeling, when it's done: "So. Now what?" "I dunno, wanna get some coffee?" "Yeah, sure." I think it's because we have this giant build-up for one day, and I'm now thinking, hmmmmm. We could try to have less build-up, but I think the cat's well and truly out of the bag on that one, yes? So if we're going to have the build-up, the next best thing to do is to extend Christmas. Let's embrace the whole "Twelve Days" thing. Let's make it a real festival! A national, or even worldwide, festival of light and love and all that jazz. We have festivals all the time; why not one more?

(Yes, this idea isn't even half-baked. But that's the way I like my ideas, because then I can mold 'em so I like 'em.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

For a number of years I always felt like, "That was it? Now what?" on Christmas. I think as adults we expect Christmas to keep on being just like it was when we were kids - weeks of anticipation and then new toys and nothing to do but play with them for a whole week.

I don't know how I got to the point where after Christmas let down has turned into after Christmas calm. I wish I knew so I could tell other people in a way that doesn't sound preachy or nannyish.

(huh... That's a cool "word". The captcha is talizood.)

Roger Owen Green said...

So this IS Christmas, I keep telling people. 12 days! Wise guys haven't even madfe it to Bethlehem (and my presents aren't all wrapped yet.) http://rogerowengreen.blogspot.com/2008/12/x-is-for-xmas.html

Capcha is amoul, which is close enough for the Night Visitor for me.