Christmas traditions change over time

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There is just enough snow to almost cover the grass but not the streets. That’s the way I like it.
I took my mother shopping yesterday. The stores have Christmas music playing in the background. I remember when one could shop in peace and quiet but have to admit that I like to hear carols. My brothers and I have decided not to exchange gifts this year. The thinking is that it will allow us to spend more on our immediate families.
This upsets my mother to no end. She is convinced that we will all buy for our inlaws and not each other. I tried to tell her that my husband and I haven’t bought gifts for his family for decades but she can’t comprehend that. Even though we aren’t buying for each other I will still buy for her.
Any attempt to change tradition will always be met with resistance.
Another tradition is Christmas letters. I use this time of year to catch up on my correspondence. I don’t tend to do the bragging thing as there usually isn’t much to brag about. This year I decided to go with a strictly fictional account of our year. Wouldn’t you know it, our printer flat out refuses to print such balderdash. I am tempted to show the printer who’s boss by making a column out of the letter but am afraid I would end up in the looney bin if anyone took it seriously.
I plan to spend the next week wrapping presents and going back and forth to the post office along with persuading the printer to do what it was designed to do. Thank goodness the post office is more cooperative than the printer. I depend on them and the phone company to keep me in touch with friends and family. I may gripe about the price but it is a whole lot cheaper than delivering stuff myself.
We got some really great buys when we went shopping for the children. It is more fun to buy toys for them than clothes as I can try out all the various noisemakers and embarrass anybody who is with me. But clothes are what the parents prefer. Practicality may not be as much fun, but clothes will be used more than toys.
Of course, grandson Jacob is still small enough to get more enjoyment out of a box than any toy. Or I could get him his own set of mixing bowls. It seems that the other day he spent quite a while putting his toys in a mixing bowl then sitting in the bowl and scooting across the kitchen floor.
Shopping, visiting, fighting with cranky electronics; they’re all part of Christmas. Traditions evolve and change. Adults get as fussy as toddlers in need of a nap. It’s all minor. What counts is spending time with family and friends. What counts is stopping in the middle of all the madness to sing along with a carol about a baby born a long time ago. This season is about the spirit of happiness and giving; garish displays of lights, unappreciated presents, crazy expectations; secular things and religious beliefs combined.
It’s not only beginning to look a lot like Christmas, its beginning to feel a lot like it, too.[[In-content Ad]]