It's Starting To Look A Lot Like...Nothing?

Cross posted at God Is For Suckers!

It's that time of year again - and if you're anything like me, you probably have a few Xmas jingles doing a dance step inside your head (due to the incessant playing of said tunes on the radio and boob tube).

I get a tad maudlin this time o' year, probably due to the decades of conditioning and fond childhood memories. So humor an old man, willya?

I was about eight years old, when I discovered there wasn't a Santa Claus. I stayed up late, and snuck out quiet as a mouse (thinkin' I was the only thing stirring, to paraphrase the rhyme), hoping to catch old Kris Kringle in flagrante delicto as it were, and with my little eye, I did spy...my folks assembling our presents.

That next morning, I demanded the truth. My folks fum-fahed, and finally admitted - there was no Santa Claus!

Delighted by my discovery, I (almost) immediately divulged this bit of info to my closest friend Greg, who lived across the street from me...and was rewarded with a bloody nose. My first foray with truth versus fantasy was greeted with fists. A harsh lesson, indeed.

So here I am, some forty-odd years later, a little smarter, somewhat more mature, and just a bit better at dodging the odd punch.

I still celebrate it. Yes, it's hard to be a major buzzkill this time of year, after years of celebrating a family tradition. (Good thing I haven't joined the alleged 'War on Christmas'.) Let's face it - it's a good excuse to take some time off, rub shoulders with those annoying folks you call relatives, and maybe come away with something other than a hangover. I confess, I rather like Xmas. Just strip away all the religious nonsense, please.

And of course, the Grinches come out in droves, ranting their usual nonsense about our cultural traditions (hey, traditions change, most notably along with the increasing diversity of a country), carrying on in the style of your standard conspiracy wackjob, and altogether or separately, making complete and utter asses of themselves.

Maybe no one's noticed, but the Huffington Post has declared the 'War is over! (Imagine me snickering into my palm like Muttley.)

Somehow, the phrase 'wag the dog' springs readily to mind.

I'm all for renaming it Winterval - this exclusivist attitude on the part of the religious is irksome, to say the least. We hear this all year round, don't we? It's our country, it's our gwad, it's mine, mine, mine, you can't have it, let alone complain or criticize it.

"Peace on earth, good will towards man" - when exactly did the escape clause get worked into that? (Another symptom of how deeply religion's entrenched in our culture - I can pretty much sing the lyrics to that nod to the 'on high'. Blecch! 'Mercy mild' my homesick ass.)

Anyways, y'all have a wicked Winterval, y'hear?