Thoughts For Christmas

Call me old fashioned. It’s okay. I am proud of being old-fashioned when it comes to Christmas. It could also be said that I am stuck in my ways. Again, when it comes to Christmas, I am okay with being labeled as such.

The Christmas holiday has changed so much since I was a child in the 1970s. I often wonder if my parents thought of that in the 1970s. Was Christmas for them in the 1940s different? Have you ever watched a movie that depicts Christmas in the 40s? It looked so magical. The same goes for the 1970s; there was magic in Christmas from baking cookies as a family to decorating the tree as a family to visiting relatives throughout the season.

I am convinced that the very same things that have broken down our society over the past several decades has changed Christmas. I only hope that I can keep it alive the way I remember it within my own circle. So let's look at the changes that really put a curl in my mistletoe, shall we?

The Music - Music is the biggest change about Christmas that affects me. And some of that is attributed to the artists. Plus, I am pretty sure that much of this change is MY fault. You see, I cannot begin to accept the artists these days that perform remakes of Christmas music. I know it is my fault because I might say that I do not like the version of this carol that N’sync did but I like the way that John Anderson did it. Complete bias. I know this. You see, when I grew up listening to great Christmas music by the greats like Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Jim Nabors, Doris Day and more, how can you go wrong? These were “my” Christmas carolers. But my children don’t get it and I do get why. Now there have been some great original Christmas music come out over my lifetime but performed by some of my favorite artists so here comes that bias again. But think about some modern pieces that are just so wonderful. Songs like "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses, "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band-Aid and try this if you have not heard it, "(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus" by Harry Connick, Jr. But really, how many different ways can one stand the same carols being done? If they are definitively different or classy, then maybe they are worthy of a listen but I do not find that the case and I find myself browsing through the CD racks around this time of year looking for new compilations of the good old stuff.

The Programs - like the music, my tastes with television and movies are pretty much the same. Here again, I grew up watching great masterpieces of Christmas such as “Scrooge” with Alastair Sim who, in my humble opinion, is the best ever Ebenezer Scrooge. “It’s A Wonderful Life”, I mean you cannot go wrong with this holiday classic. Even children’s cartoons; “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, A Charlie Brown Christmas” and all of the Rankin-Bass productions. These are classics!! I am glad that many of these still air these days. I am more fortunate in that I have many of these on DVD and can watch them all season long should I wish to do so. Again, I am very critical of remakes and reboots but there have been good new original program, and I am not referring to ABC Family originals..bleh. Oops, my bias is showing again.I'm talking about "Polar Express" or "A Christmas Snow". Good original movies that pull at your heart strings and make you just feel good when you watch them. I do not think that we need another remake of "A Christmas Carol".

The Traditions - we come from all nationalities and backgrounds and I am not here to talk about your own traditions as they are very dear to you. But let’s talk about 1970 and 2010 (and forward) as it pertains to radio stations. You know when I was a child growing up, Thanksgiving was the “start” of the holiday season as far as music was concerned. Radio stations might play a carol here and there in the mix but you had to wait until Christmas Eve 6:00 PM for the All-Christmas music marathon to start and it would be like that until 11:59 PM Christmas night. And my butt was parked in from of that AM radio at 6 o’clock to listen to the non-repeating marathon of music to fill my heart with joy and anticipation of what Christmas morning would bring. Now they are going all - Christmas at November FIRST! Five years ago it was Thanksgiving. Some stations started BEFORE Halloween. C’mon people!

How about the commercialization of Christmas. Show of hands, who remembers when nothing was open on Christmas Day? Now everything is open which means someone has to work which means families are broken up on the holiday. If you want to see one reason society is collapsing, look no further than the Christmas season. Black Friday sales are now beginning on November FIRST. Stores that used to open at 5AM or 6AM on Black Friday are opening at 6 and 7 PM on Thanksgiving. “Thanks for dinner, mom. I gotta go get a deal on a TV and an Xbox for the kids”. What is that?! They now have reality TV shows that follow crazy people going Black Friday shopping. I cannot believe my eyes. And one wonders why there are dysfunctional families.

Retailers get a big part of the blame. Why are the Christmas trees and decorations out BEFORE Halloween? Can we get past the current retail groping before moving ahead three holidays? Who is making these decisions? I’d like to send Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to their board meetings (where are my Kevin Smith fans). But I know how to deal with it, I don’t buy into it.  That’s right. I don’t shop on Black Friday. I don’t go to the malls. I’m told there are great deals to be had. Okay, but what if I do not need for anything? No need to go out.I have Amazon and Cyber Monday!

Maybe I am just grumpy. You know what? That’s okay too. Because while you are out there in the hustle and bustle, listening to the same six Christmas songs over and over again while leaving your family behind on Thanksgiving to fist fight your way to a cheap TV or a pair of socks, I’ll be the grumpy old-fashioned man who is set in my ways having a holly jolly time with my family while drinking a glass of eggnog and watching some football while Bing Crosby serenades me in the background with the classic rendition of “White Christmas”. I am good with that. Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight!