Re - Christmas traditions

well as with every family the Christmas tradition has changed with the ages of those around us. 1940 -19 60s Christmas timmings adorned the walls and were a neck trap for the tall ones, most of them home made. For the children it was a stocking at the bottom of the bed with an apple in the toe, a siver sixpence (if you were rich and dad in work) some chocolate covered pirates treasure coins perhaps a pair of gloves and a scarf, and at the top of them a tangerine still wrapped in its tissue paper. if the child was very lucky then it was a new gun or a doll at the very top of the stocking just sticking out. sometimes it was a forgotten toy or one swopped with a cousin who had outgrown it and re painted by dad or dressed by mom. toys were inspected after dinner time and EVERYONE sat down to dinner around the table when your dad came home from the pub, the Queens speach was listened to on the radio and no one dare make a noise while she spoke
By the time the 60;s arrived it had moved to a pillow case on the floor and the sixpence had gone along with the apple and tangerine and in their place were to be found ray guns and cindy dolls. raceing cars and makeup sets, a new dress and shoes and trousers and shirt for the boys, crayons and paint sets were by now getting old hat and not worth opening if you knew what they were and the gloves and scarf sets had disapeared totaly due to the demise of the knitter. dad still went down the pub and dinner eaten around the table the telly was left on all day to keep the kids quiet while mom as normal slaved away in the kitchen to prep a meal that was the best that the new supermarket could sell. evenings the family would be forced to go and visit one of the in laws. the kids not amused and the queens speech on telly was only watched by by the older generation.
bythe time the 1980' decended on us the value of christmas gifts had changed. the folk were in work the kids grown old enough to buy their own presents and xmas dinner was a quick thing to get over and done with, the boys out to see the girls and drink with their pals and the girls sat in the bedroom with with their best friends and the record player going full blast. Christmas dinner was waiting to go into the new microwave when each person decided they wanted some food to soak up the booze. Mother could sit and watch the "sound of music" for the third time and the trifle was from tesco along with the mince pies.
we now advanced to when the millenium arrived and the computer was reduced from the size of two rooms to something you could put on the desk.
killing games are the most requested gift amongst the boys now so they can spend hours destroying the world and get scored on their efforts. the table the folk sat around has been sent to freecycle, the festive trimmings are reduced an electric candle in the window and a plastic wreath on the door. the christmas feast is a full meal on a plate that takes all of three minutes to heat and three to eat. No time to stop and think of the meaning of this special day its just another like the one yesterday and so lets get back to the computer and kill a few more folk.
Thankfully 2011 has finally come around and the time of home made gifts has made full circle, the computer is now used to keep in touch with loved ones and to give hints and tips on how to make things, with the world getting smaller we are learning about the problems of others and trying to help where we can, we are once more learning to share and to bring back the meaning of Christs birthday , Ok so the war games for the play stations are still here and getting more realistic but
There is a small core of people on this poor planet that are attempting to bring joy into the homes of those who are out of work
secret santas is a new idea that is hopefully spreading and people are once more learning just how much peace they can find in their own hearts and minds by refusing that expencive perfum and useing the money to buy food for someone who has none. We have learnt to pray again but not allways useing the same name but the same God, simple prayers given for peace and goodwill . Tolerance is found of another person who has been given different beliefs and is another colour of skin
This is now OUR gift to the supreme spirit, following the 11th comandment of
love one another as i love you.
He gave us his ONLY SON, Perhaps we could at least give tollerance and hope to the world in exchange and If you would like to read this to anyone else and help them think about the day then please feel free to do so.
I hope i have not offended any one but if so then i pray that the spirit of Christmas will help them ovecome any prejudices that they may have to others shareing this planet.
just as a bee was created to help pollenate the plants so we may have harvest and a fly to help clean up the rubbish. So God created different styles of his people to cope with the place they had to live.
Remember to allways pass on a kindness and it will return to you when you need it
Merry Christmas one and all . May love, light and laughter be with you and yours this day and allways.
Bless you and Blessed be. annie in the uk