The holiday season
Don Coldsmith
Friday, December 22, 2006
JUST TO BE consistent, a columnist usually has some sort of a regular date for the newspapers which carry it. I have used Mondays for many years, largely for my own convenience on the calendar. This has served as a “release date.”
Several of the weekly papers who have carried “Horsin’ Around” publish on other than a Monday, but some sort of scheduled release is only fair to others — any day after the release date. This works well, usually. The problem arises when, every few years, Christmas and New Year’s Day happen to fall on a Monday. Will daily papers even publish on such a holiday?
I decided to merely date the column this time, rather than release-date anything, and theorize that readers and editors may be nearly as confused as I am about “what day of the week is it?” When the holiday collides with the weekend.
One really good step in the right direction, however, is that this season we have reverted to calling it “Christmas.” In 2005 somebody had the idea that it should not be a holiday based on one religion. It was to be called something else, so as not to offend those of other faiths. Several religions throughout history have had holidays based around the events of short days and long nights. These customs overlap to some extent, and the whole thing becomes more confusing, as people partially adjust to others’ concept of the holiday season. I recall a Jewish family that always had a tree much like our Christmas tree, decorated with lights, and gifts under the tree. It was, they always explained, not a Christmas tree, but a “Hanukkah Bush.”
Let’s face it. . . we have a tendency to adopt the customs of others if they look meaningful and produce emotions in ourselves that we like. Sometimes, we even get some ideas confused.
For instance, the Three Wise Men... Nowhere in scripture is it mentioned how many wise men. In some early writings, there are twelve. In addition, if they came “from the East,” it’s highly unlikely that they were riding camels. People “from the East” laugh at us for that one. Riding camels are from Africa. The Eastern camel is the two-humped beast of burden. The “Wise Men” would probably have been riding fine Arabian horses, not draft animals, wouldn’t we assume?
But, many things about the holiday season relax to allow some good will, if we’re willing to accept it and loosen up a little bit. It isn’t as if God never spoke to anybody but our own narrow grasp of God, and everybody else is wrong. After all, Jesus himself was a Jewish rabbi, wasn’t he?
I’ve had friends of many religious faiths who respected my beliefs as I did theirs. We don’t have to agree. I have little patience with the religions who work from the position “God told me you’re supposed to do this. . .” My only answer is: Okay, when He tells me, I’ll do it.
Meanwhile, we had, in Emporia, Kansas, a very respected family who were Jewish. The Ropfogels, who, as early settlers, had a highly successful men’s clothing business. The generation of our own age was headed by Albert Ropfogel. We were good friends.
In addition to running the store, Albert was a musician of professional skill, playing several instruments.
On Christmas Eve, he and his family of kids (about the ages of ours) would make the rounds of Christian friends’ homes, singing Christmas carols accompanied by his accordion. Our kids were duly impressed, and we always invited them in for hot cocoa.
There came a time when the kids were growing older, that Albert announced that this would be the last time. Their kids were old enough to be embarrassed about it. Typical teens, of course. Time to quit.
“Oh, Albert,” pleaded my spouse. “You shouldn’t do that. This is part of Christmas. Our kids just think you walk on water!”
“Well,” admitted Albert, “I had a distant cousin who did.”
In the name of Albert’s distant cousin, let us loosen up with some tolerance this wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!
See you down the road.
Author and columnist Don Coldsmith lives in Emporia.