to those who celebrate. I hope you have a very special holiday.
It was pointed out to me lately that just because we don't celebrate christmas doesn't mean that we can't say Merry Christmas to others. I don't believe in a secular christmas, and we aren't christian. Some people don't really think anything about a secular christmas. To be honest this is something that we have been heading towards since we got married. We are bigger believers in getting something for someone when you see it, whether it be a special day or not. And we also don't like commercialism. We don't want to raise children who need the newer brighter toy. We want them to be happy with what they have. We would prefer not to do any toys this time of year. We don't think it is right for christmas to be about Santa Claus and how many toys you get and making sure that retailers make a profit for the year. This kinda makes us sick. I can't express how much this makes us sick. It have become more of a big deal the older our kids get. When we can't go out without our children being asked if they were good enough for Santa to bring them toys. What they were asking Santa for christmas... I am not sure what upsets me more, that most people assume that we celebrate christmas, or that christmas is all about the toys and presents you get. I admit that the religious aspect upsets me more than Jack. He doesn't care so much, but I do think it is really disrespectful to others beliefs. We both feel the same way about the commercialism though.
We do believe that this is a good time to remember that there are those less fortunate than us. We try to give to the salvation army when we see them at the grocery. When we see the shelters collecting at the stores we try to do some shopping for them And tonight when we went to starbucks, okay the only place open for hot chocolate :), we carried on in the spirit of the cars in front of us, each of us putting money towards the car behind us, along with a good tip. These are the things we should do year round though. An extra smile to someone, kind words, a helping hand. But there are two extremes that come out this time of year, those who start their extra kindness, and those who get impatient when you walk slowly with your kids at the grocery store. It is kinda interesting to see.
BUT for those of you who christmas does have a real true meaning, whether it be a religious meaning, or just a time when you know you can get together with your family, I do hope you enjoy your day.
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We celebrate a secular Christmas, mainly just continuing family traditions from when Rob and I were kids. I don't see celebrating a secular Christmas as any different from others celebrating a secular Halloween. Each holiday is sacred in certain beliefs but can also be enjoyed without religious influence or (this part is more difficult) mass commercialization and rampant consumerism. Unfortunately it's easy to get carried away with all aspects.
I try so hard to keep the gift part of Christmas small, but with the rest of the family involved it always seems to grow too much. Thankfully, the girls did not get any toys or plastic pieces of crap from any of them. Adeline did get that awesome monster puppet and Cailyn got the magnetic geometry set thing-a-ma-bob and they got the midwife kit from us. It's so so hard to try and help them see things in the right perspective. *sigh* I'm really trying though. :/
I am so loving your midwife kit.
I would like to stress the family traditions and keep down on the commercialism. We only have a few traditions that we have and like. One is the cinnamon rolls, brought by Jack's mom. And the other is, was, kinda changed it a little this year, painting our tree. This year we made a wreath instead. But doing something creative and decorative, I think that is how we are going to describe it now. Even Halloween is insanely commercial. It doesn't seem that there isn't a holiday now that isn't. Halloween decorations go on sale beginning in September and it just seems so crazy now and really sad. Especially since most people don't even know what it is really about.
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