Xmas 2006

As someone who is neither a christian nor a parent, Xmas should be reasonably easy to dodge. But it's not. It's too much a part of American culture, so much a part that even those with different faiths find themselves routinely taking part in the "Secret Santa" gift exchange at work, or at the very least accepting Xmas cards and wishes from the people they know.

I used to point to the date and all the outward manifestations of German paganism present in modern-day Xmas and pretend I was celebrating the solstice instead. But I wasn't. It was still Xmas, just not the religious version.

I like giving presents, though, and it's nice to have a socially-accepted excuse for that.

This year was tough because I wasn't able to give much. Mostly this is due to a check I was expecting to arrive some time ago not showing up, leaving me extremely poor this December, hoping that I might receive cigarettes and non-perishable food as presents.

But I suppose it all worked out fine in the end. While I haven't been able to give presents to some of the people on whom I would normally like to bestow something, nobody seemed to mind all that much.

As for Xmas itself, I hosted a little thing at my home for my mother and my friend Craig. Craig is someone with whom I've spent time on Thanksgivings and Xmases past, as his family celebrates at different times, and I generally boycott large family gatherings. My mom, of course, is my mom.

Everybody brought something, and I made a lasagna which I didn't ruin to the degree I had feared. I had visions of the three of us piling into a car and traipsing off to Golden Nugget to dine on "meatloaf." But we all seemed to be fairly festive, and instead of the hellacious nightmare it could have turned into, I feel comfortable saying that everyone had a nice time.

Still, as it isn't even my holiday, let alone my Holy Day, I'm glad that it's done with for another year. Or however many months it is before I start seeing Santa everywhere again.