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Dec. 24th, 2009
Today's weather round here was biting cold, with a dense fog that has persisted all day. Not a day for doing very much at all.
So I spent it doing the only thing worth doing this time of year - people watching, looking at all the despairing and angry faces, wincing at the constant onslaught of Heart Radio at max volume from every speaker in every shop.
What gift shopping I have done, I have done. I had nothing else to need to buy, so I bought some spare milk and popped up to the folks'. I had to make sure they had enough milk for the weekend, because there is no public transport until Monday.
I'm at the folks' right now, and there's nothing else that needs to be done. We've got the house sorted and ready for visitors, and all we have to do now is just batten down the hatches and wait out the crapstorm to come.
A whole weekend of crap, and all I have to look forward to is getting Star Trek (2009) on DVD.
I've come to the conclusion that gift giving as a philosophy should be changed in this country.
- Each donor gives one gift per recipient, maximum.
- Set a maximum price per gift, say £10. No gift may exceed that amount. You don't need to spend like a bloody fool for anybody; particularly if there is no guarantee they will buy anything as expensive for you.
- Alternatively, set a maximum personal budget, say £50, and take the cost of gifts from that. Once the fund's gone, it's gone. That's it.
- Remind people of two things. Firstly, that the recipient has no control over what the donor gives. Gift giving should never be given the status of obligation: it is an act of generosity, but should never be turned into some sort of mandatory or compulsory ritual.
- Secondly, that the act of giving is not about the thing given. The act is about the donor thanking the recipient for the past year's friendship, not the satiation of some greedy craving on the part of the recipient just because "it's Christmas."
Christmas has to be better than this. It's got to be.
Or next year, I am not giving people a bloody thing. Call me a fucking Scrooge next year if you want, but it won't change a thing. No means no, until the people I care about start to recognise that nothing about Christmas is compulsory - not even being around to celebrate it.
So I spent it doing the only thing worth doing this time of year - people watching, looking at all the despairing and angry faces, wincing at the constant onslaught of Heart Radio at max volume from every speaker in every shop.
What gift shopping I have done, I have done. I had nothing else to need to buy, so I bought some spare milk and popped up to the folks'. I had to make sure they had enough milk for the weekend, because there is no public transport until Monday.
I'm at the folks' right now, and there's nothing else that needs to be done. We've got the house sorted and ready for visitors, and all we have to do now is just batten down the hatches and wait out the crapstorm to come.
A whole weekend of crap, and all I have to look forward to is getting Star Trek (2009) on DVD.
I've come to the conclusion that gift giving as a philosophy should be changed in this country.
- Each donor gives one gift per recipient, maximum.
- Set a maximum price per gift, say £10. No gift may exceed that amount. You don't need to spend like a bloody fool for anybody; particularly if there is no guarantee they will buy anything as expensive for you.
- Alternatively, set a maximum personal budget, say £50, and take the cost of gifts from that. Once the fund's gone, it's gone. That's it.
- Remind people of two things. Firstly, that the recipient has no control over what the donor gives. Gift giving should never be given the status of obligation: it is an act of generosity, but should never be turned into some sort of mandatory or compulsory ritual.
- Secondly, that the act of giving is not about the thing given. The act is about the donor thanking the recipient for the past year's friendship, not the satiation of some greedy craving on the part of the recipient just because "it's Christmas."
Christmas has to be better than this. It's got to be.
Or next year, I am not giving people a bloody thing. Call me a fucking Scrooge next year if you want, but it won't change a thing. No means no, until the people I care about start to recognise that nothing about Christmas is compulsory - not even being around to celebrate it.
Writer's Block: Tonight, tonight
Dec. 24th, 2009 07:36 pm[Error: unknown template qotd]Yule was on Monday. I celebrated it with a couple of lit candles and some quiet meditation.
The next big ritual for me is Imbolc, on February 1st, another big candle ritual - and just as important as Yule.
Nothing about the scuffle on December 25th is mandatory. Not even being alive to observe it.
The next big ritual for me is Imbolc, on February 1st, another big candle ritual - and just as important as Yule.
Nothing about the scuffle on December 25th is mandatory. Not even being alive to observe it.
