Oh, [Insert Holiday Name Here] Tree…
On Sunday, in order to get Morgan to behave while we did our weekly grocery shopping, I promised him that we would put up our Yule (Solstice) tree once we got home. Of course he took that literally… He practically demanded that we start on it as soon as we walked through the door when we got home! He had to be reminded that the groceries had to be put away, and laundry had to be started. Finally we were able to put it up, and it was accomplished without too much frustration on my part. (Why is it those damned string lights always seem to tangle?! *lol* That reminds me of the song "Twelve Pains Of Christmas" by The Bob Rivers Comedy Corp!)
Morgan is all excited now that the tree has finally been put up, and practically all we hear from him is about Santa Claus & presents. Though, it’s the thought of all the presents he’ll be getting for Yule that really has him excited the most. He definitely has presents on the brain.
We also plan on having him go see Santa Claus this year, as this is the first year he’s fully grasped who he is. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find a Santa that knows how to handle children with autism. I’m just glad that we finally can use the "You better be good, or Santa won’t bring you any presents!" ultimatum. It’s amazing how quickly Morgan will behave when we say that! So few ultimatums even work with Morgan, so it’s refreshing to have one that works so well. Though, once Yule goes by it probably won’t have the same effect, but we’ll enjoy it as long as it lasts.
<rant>
This whole Christmas tree vs. Holiday tree debate is merely a mountain made out of a molehill. Why is it so terrible to call these trees "Holiday" trees? It’s not an issue about being politically correct, it’s about showing respect for other people’s beliefs, since a lot of other religions also decorate evergreen trees for their winter holiday(s). Yet, the Christian Right in this country refuse to acknowledge that, and basically want their religion to dominate everyone else’s during the winter holiday season. By calling evergreen trees bought with taxpayer money "Christmas" trees, sanctimonious federal/state government officials are trying to establish Christianity as THE state religion. This is wrong, not to mention unconstitutional.
The "Christmas" tree (along with Christmas itself - Jesus was NOT born on December 25th!) is one of many winter holiday traditions/practices that Christians co-opted borrowed from a myriad of Heathen/Pagan religions. The Celts for example decorated trees with nuts, fruits, coins, and candles during the Winter Solstice, to encourage the sun to return to bring spring. Many other European people had tree decorating rituals as well. Other traditions/practices that Christians "borrowed" from various Heathen/Pagan religions include: Santa Claus, wreaths, Yule logs, red, green & white decorations, Yule candles, mistletoe, holly, etc. I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea.
So what I’m trying to say here is that there are other religions, besides Christianity, that have winter celebrations, and it would be nice if we could get the same respect for our winter holiday(s) that Christians expect for theirs. That’s not asking for too much, is it???
</rant>
Add comment November 30th, 2005 Posted by: Ash