Yea, ok, so it may be weird. When I tell people that I’ve been listening to Christmas music for about three weeks now (and periodically throughout the year), I get weird looks and a, “man this guy needs help” kind of look. I mean, can I help it if I like the feeling of Christmas? So I wanted to take 5 minutes to explain why I begin listening to Christmas music in the middle of October.

Some people seem to think that Christmas is a “season.” That for some reason, when the Christmas “season” comes around, we all need to act differently; we should act more caring, cordial, forgiving, and friendly. We are supposed to remember our family and friends and to spread love, joy and peace. Even during both World Wars there were Christmas truces where both sides would stop fighting for a determined amount of time in respect of the holiday.

These people seem to be under the belief that during this time of the year, whether it be religious or social pressures, we are to alter our normal patterns of behavior out of respect for a tradition that, by all accounts, has lost the very meaning it was founded upon.

Well I say bull:

• First of all, Christmas is not a “season,” it is a day; winter is a season. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Christian son of God (and profit or holy man to most others) Jesus Christ. When did it ever become a season? That would be the result of Capitalism and commercialization. Again, another example of the contradiction that is the Republican…but I digress.
• People are supposed to act differently during the Christmas “season.” And in all honesty, that is exactly what most people do…act. Because after the “season” passes, most people revert right back to being mean, vengeful, greedy, and unforgiving of each other. Why is this? Why only treat each other like humans during a specific time of the year? Why can’t we simply ALWAYS treat each other like we do during this “season?”
• This “season” even stops wars. So the only logical question to ask is, why start the wars at all? The majority of wars in modern times are/were unnecessary to begin with; based on greed (read Capitalism), monopolization, and the exercise and abuse of power. If we simply started behaving like we are do during Christmas all the time, we would have a more peaceful planet. (Note: I am speaking in reference to unnecessary wars. The last necessary war was WWII…and arguably the US in Afghanistan.)
• The meaning of Christmas was lost long ago. Alright you bible thumping Republicans, listen up. What does the bible say about how we should act and celebrate Christmas? Anyone? That’s right, not a dam thing. Obviously because Christmas did not exist until long after Jesus died. No decorating of trees, midnight mass, exchanging of gifts, etc. Now, according to the bible, what does Jesus say about how we should treat each other ALL OF THE TIME? Yes, it’s right there, probably in red text; forgiveness, self sacrifice, love, generosity, peace, humility and humbleness, respect, and, well, you get the idea. He says nothing about only doing this during a certain time of the year and I would imagine that if/when He does return, we would be fucking pissed that we’re only doing it to celebrate His birth. By making it primarily a tribute to Him, it shows our selfishness for our own salvation.

So what does this mean then? Well, for all you Republicans out there who hypocritically preach the “good word,” maybe you should do as your book says (Matthew 7:5) and check yourselves first. Capitalism, oppression, hoarding money, and racism…all your party tenants, are contradictory to what you preach (or should I say, force, upon others). For the rest of us, we need to learn to treat each other like it’s Christmas all the time. Whether you believe Jesus was the son of God or not is entirely irrelevant. His TRUE message (not the bastardized Republican version) is invaluable and is one of the best blueprints (along with MLK, Gandhi, most of Muhammad, etc.) for all of us in this world to get along.

Thus, I will continue to listen to Christmas music anytime I want to.

Tags: Christian, Christmas, family, God, holiday, Jesus Christ, love, money, Muhammad, power, republicans, tradition, values