Mother Nature is thumbing her nose at my contempt for "White Christmas"

[capri0mni]

It started snowing early this morning. It kept snowing all day (sun just came out, within the last few minutes, and there were still flurries falling past my west-facing windows just before I came in here to type this).

It's not enough snow to actually hide the ground beneath, but each holly leaf on my shrubs has its own white cap.

Humph!

Why am I contemptuous of "White Christmas?" Because it puts too much importance on superficial, external conditions.

Even if you are completely secular in your outlook, the end of one year and preparation for the next, provides a perfect oportunity to take stock of your life and your relationships as they are in the here and now, and to celebrate what is real, and important. Bringing in artificial snow machines, and or decorating every shop window to look like it fits within the artic circle, just to fit some ideal of a song made famous in a Hollywood Movie is the opposite of all that.

And if you're religious in your outlook, and actually celebrate Divine action within the Mortal realm at this season, well... putting snow around the Manger is even more troublesome.

Though I do admit, the snow out there right now looks mighty purdy. :-)

Comments

[chronographia]

And what about those of us who, when we were little, fell into a snowdrift that was bigger than we were and had a religious experience and now get unreasonably excited about snow, even as an adult? What are we supposed to do? (Other than do everything in our power to slow down climate change.)

[capri0mni]

You make a good point about the inherent, sacred, nature of snow. And if snow is part of the who, what, where, when and why of you and your soul, then by all means: sing its praises and dance in its glory!

It's just this "Praying for snow on December 24th" then "heaping curses on snow on December 26th" strikes me as blasphemous. My agnostic Credo is: live where you are, love when you be, and PAY ATTENTION to this moment!

Also, I happenened to turn on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," last night; the family was in Florida, and for the final scene, they'd brought in two big snow machines to drop snow only on that family's front lawn, to give them a "perfect Christmas" while they stood in their shirtsleeves (with open collars) waving at the camera. And that, especially, strikes me as sinful hubris-- to reduce the power of snow to something we think we can control, for our own entertainment.

Also, kids who grow up here get bicycles for Christmas, but the big tree in the mall is still decorated with sleds...

[chronographia]

It's just this "Praying for snow on December 24th" then "heaping curses on snow on December 26th"

I was horribly tempted to respond with, "Pfft, who even thinks that sort of bilge anymore?" and then remembered my life as a semi-professional recluse from pop culture, who has friends that live all over, temperate rainforests and austral coastline and the great frozen northland included. I am not qualified to pass comment on the mass media ouroboros.

[abates]

I'm in the southern hemisphere, so white christmases are totally alien to me, except on cards. Also stores still insist on painting snow on their windows and so on, which is just weird when it's mid summer.

[capri0mni]

And I feel particularly bad for the working Santas (helpers) who are expected to do their jobs dressed in fur-lined clothes. *tsk*