Huzzah

Clayton Matthew. Born on Christmas Day.

Mr. B isn't sure what to think.


His mother likes him though.

Reasons to love Detroit-3

It is what it is
Number 3

Detroit is like cutting your own Christmas tree.

Sure an artificial tree is nice...it has that perfect shape, you can store it for use again next year...There aren't any needles to sweep up, if you forget to water it it won't die...you don't have to tramp through the snow with a saw to get it, or spend half an hour on your back in a puddle of water tightening screws saying, "is it straight yet?"...when Christmas is over you just put it back in the box, or if you have room just carry it to the basement and cover it with a sheet...there aren't any holes and there's always a nice top branch for the angel or star...The branches are stright and never out of place...

but in the end it's still fake.

Reasons to love Detroit-16

Number 16
Noel Night
http://www.detroitmidtown.com/05/noelnight.php

Saturday Night we dropped Mr. B off at some friends house and went on our first real date in quite some time. So we headed off to midtown Detroit, and the 37th annual Noel Night. 40 different venues, live performances from kids dancing to a full production of The Messiah, to a lady with a guitar, to hip indie rock bands(MJ tells me that indie rock is the in thing, apparently we all love to be independent together).

The best thing is it's all free, except for food. The DIA had free admission, with several rooms devoted to performers. The library was a mass of people, there was an ice-sculpting competition, and caroling. Woodward Avenue was blocked off. One of the great things was the mix of people. And everybody was having a good time.

In the 70's the situation in Detroit was bleak. So it is not entirely surprising that some of the best events in Detroit date to that period...Noel Night, Dally in the Alley, the Detroit Jazz Festival...

The only problem is that the temperature was in the 20's. There are definitely not enough degrees in this place. So if you have any to spare, send them my way.

Christmas List

As readers of my blog may know, I'm not very good with Christmas lists.

I am sorry

On the other hand...

I am very gracious no matter what you give me...

And I will be thankful

A Nativity Reading

And my choice for the best nativity reading of all time. Of the best summary and explanation of the incarnation:

John 1:1-18

In it are summarized the purpose, method, scope, and outcome of the incarnation of Christ. I think that we should read this every Christmas to remember what we are celebrating. I myself read it when I woke up this morning as a certain little girl ate cereal and everyone else in the house slept.

Furthur thoughts

My feelings about Christmas and gifts is the result of years of evolving thought that have suddenly come together in a rash of disgust and horror. But I think I need to make it clear that my feelings about gifts and Christmas are a result of personal conviction, not moral imperative. I know from experience that there are people who can enjoy Christtmas and gift-giving this time of year without the feelings I have expressed. In my first blog about Christmas I was making a gerneral commentary on our culture, and posing a question: Have we destroyed gift giving? In the second, however I was answering that question from a completely personal perspective: emphatically yes, I have destroyed gift giving in my self through my attitudes about Christmas.

There are at least three important factors in my personal musings about Christmas gift giving. First, I see gift giving, unwillingly, in a transactional way: I will give you a gift if you will give me a gift. Second, I see gift giving, again unwillingly in a competitive way: I want my gift to be the best one you receive. Third, I find in myself an insatiable greed and gluttony around this time of year as I wait in eager anticipation to see what new things I will get. Fourth, because of the way our culture is constructed I find myself disappointed because, no matter how many people there are to give me gifts, there's always something I didn't get.

This, I know is not how everyone sees Christmas. I realize that I am confessing to some rather unsettling psychological issues. But I also recognize that ther is, or there should be more to Christmas. It is a celebration of the Incarnation of God. This is one of the greatest mysteries and one of the most sublime truths. God became man. Somehow, I never notice it anymore. My parents certainly raised me to see Christmas this way. But somewhere along the way, as I came of age, I allowed the culture of our times to subvert it.

And that is why I made the request I made. I admit that it is a wrenching thing to ask for nothing for Christmas. But I think that I need a year off. I need to see again the beauty of the nativity. I need to find the joy of the season in celebrating tradition and spending time with family and friends.

What have we done?

Has Christmas destroyed gift giving?

I have long had an unsettling feeling about Christmas. It seems to grow stronger every year as I discover more and more the joy of giving gifts to those I love. Why? It is a hard feeling to describe. It seems like I would love Christmas more and more as I love giving gifts more since it is the season of gift giving. But herein lies the problem I think.

For me a large part of the joy in giving gifts is in the unexpectedness of the gift. When I come home on a random day from the store with flowers for my wife I enjoy it because it is unexpected. It is a pure expression of my love for her unencumbered by any expectations; however, when I give her a gift for her birthday or Christmas, there is an element of obligation. This sours the experience for me. The fact that if I didn't do it I would engender offense and hostility sours the experience somehow.

This I suppose is my problem with Christmas. It institutionalizes giving as a form of even exchange. I'll get you a gift, but if you don't get me one, I'll be offended. This thinking has ingrained itself so deeply on our Christmas spirit, if I don't get you something, I will know you are hurt, even if you don't show it, because I would be a little hurt and wouldn't show it. This is what Christmas does to me. It transforms me from a joyous gift-giver to a shameless transactional givver. It reduces gift giving in me to a set of obligations. How much should I spend on so and so's gift? How little can I get a decent gift for? Can I combine a couple of gifts? This thinking is also related to the cost of giving the number of gifts I am obligated by the Christmas spirit to give. The stress of having to squeeze the budget to meet a huge number of financial obligations placed on me by the spirit of Christmas deadens any hope I might have of enjoying the holiday for what it is.

So now I'm off to the mall to buy all of the gifts I know I have to give and won't enjoy giving nearly as much as if they were truly given so that I can feel at peace about receiving a bunch of gifts that others won't enjoy giving as much as they could so that we can uphold the traditional spirit of the season and not be seen as that scourge Scrooge.