Christmas Day 2007

For those producing TV programmes and adverts, Christmas cards and the like, Christmas scenes must always be dominated by snow! This annoying tendency has no substance whatsoever, unless these overpaid creatures are based in Norway! However, Christmas Day 2007 starts the way they so often do, gray skies and pouring with rain! Possibly this fails to sell products, and telly shows set in a rain drenched mist fail to cheer the fat potato loafers watching.
The telly itself sets yet another standard for failing to satisfy! Of course few people are actually watching the thing, especially early in the day. Kids are breaking most of the precious gifts, several bones and a TV or two by now. Families are arguing about the time for dinner, someone is grumbling about the gift they did, or did not, receive, and uncle Billy is already half way through the bottle of Sainsburys Cognac and looking for his first fight of the day!
Soap operas, cartoons and repeats of the usual Christmas films dominate the screen. I am so glad UKTV History has done the decent thing and is giving us an all day presentation of the excellent 'World at War' series! Just the sort of thing we need on Christmas day! Well I like it, and it is better than any of the other rubbish!
There was the token 'Christian Service,' as always from one of those English Cathedral things. Lovely buildings but hopeless in producing worship. Men in robes following a formal liturgy, a congregation happy to be seen on telly on Christmas day, well prepared choirs singing their hearts out, children reading prayers others have written. But is it worship? Not to me it isn't, and I find it hard to take. While there needs to be control and organisation during a service, this formality hinders rather than helps worship. No doubt those leading were believers, but how many attending really cared? Many turn up at Christmas but never return. Too often this type of church service bores people to death and turns them away from the life Jesus offers.
But I have to laugh when they offer one another 'The Peace.' Hands are shaken and 'blessings' passed on in an embarrassed manner between people who do not know each other. One Anglican church I knew used to have a 'Kiss of peace' until the vicar became aware of one couple being just a bit too-too peaceful. It was handshakes from then on....

It is however better to give than to receive. I have been given things today by the family and am left guilt ridden by my inability to give to them the things I wish to give. I prefer to be the one giving to them rather than taking from them, it just doesn't seem right! So I sit here with my new books, including 'Hearts Greatest Ever Season,' and 'Baminals,' a gift from the youngest great niece - she understands me, and full of guilt look forward to my lamb lunch.
The lamb is not so pleased I must say!

How 'BT' must enjoy this day! The calls that will be made to family or friends,if you can work out where they actually are what with folks running round those who 'must' be visited, and the length of time spent listening to the young ones blethering, for hours, about the loot they have acquired. Old folks will talk for ever, just because nobody listens most of the rest of the time, and half the time will not hear a word spoken because of the deafness. Some folks will even consider Jesus and read about him, some will just find an emptiness afterwards, an emptiness that comes when the obtaining gift like we did as a child no longer holds the same meaning, and we are left wondering what the point of it was. Especially those who suffer breakup, divorce or heartache. For folks who are down Christmas hits them hardest, because we are all supposed to be merry and having fun, aren't we? Time for them to realise why we have Christmas in the first place.

Hmmm, how long does a lamb need to burn before it is cooked? Does that blue haze over the cooker usually occur? Oops, must dash, the fire alarm is going off....