I make the beats.

I don’t know about you, but I celebrate Christmas.

Christmas is a holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the son of God.  I don’t go to church.  I’m not religious.  I don’t know if God exists.  Furthermore, I don’t like to feel like a hypocrite. But I celebrate this holiday with gusto. And sometimes my little voice inside asks, "Why?"

I was raised Catholic by two loving and devout parents.  Christmas eve meant Midnight Mass, the church filled with poinsettias and the comforting scent of melting candles. We would rustle our Christmas dresses in the pews as we waited for midnight. The congregation would hush as the minutes drew close.  At the stroke of midnight, the whole church would erupt into “Joy to the World!” and my sister and I would show off by singing the harmony.

When my family and I arrived home after mass, we kids were not immediately shooed off to bed. There was still an important ritual to be performed.  Now was the time to place the figure of the “baby Jesus” in the crèche*, which we had set up on the mantel. One of us kids carried the figure, while the rest of the family members made up a little parade behind him or her.  The kid in front would zig zag around the house and we would sing “Tu Scende Dalle Stelle,” an Italian Christmas carol, until we arrived at the crèche to place the baby Jesus in between Mary and Joseph.

Then I grew up. (And you kids out there might not believe it now, but you’ll grow up too.)  After college I stopped going to church, stopped practicing any “religion.”  I went through the motions of Christmas because everyone else in my family celebrated it. For a while I had vague misgivings about it, until one day a light went on in my head, and I thought, Why shouldn’t I celebrate the birth of Jesus? 

I’m actually sort of a fan of Jesus. Wasn’t he the guy who said, “Love thy neighbor”?  Wasn’t he the guy who said “Blessed are the peacemakers”?  Wasn’t he the dude who said, “Yo, listen up!  If any of you out there have no sins, then you can throw stones.”  Wasn’t he the man who put his hands on the lepers to cure them?  I wouldn’t do that in a million years!  And so I celebrate Christmas.

Also, I get all excited to see what Santa left in my stocking. 

No, but seriously, one of the reasons I’m telling you all this is related to my current photo series, “12 Days of Christmas.”  I want you to understand some of the images I may be posting up there, and also to hope that you won’t be offended by them.  By the same token, whether you go to church on  Christmas, or wait wide-eyed for Santa with your children or little brother and sister; whether you celebrate Hanukkah, or simply go on a ski trip with special friends; as long as you spend the holiday in a true and joyful way, then I am celebrating in spirit with you.

 HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL MY BUZZNET FRIENDS!!

*I snagged this creche from google in case you didn't know what it was. 

[12 Days of Christmas series, Day Four]