Have a Very Merry Whatevermas

 ________

"A very merry Xmas and a happy New Year, Let's hope it's a good one without any fear." -- "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", John Lennon and Yoko Ono


John and Yoko must have been the original political correctionist officers.  But I'm sure they felt that, by replacing "Christ" with "X," they were spreading their season's wishes to everyone in the world, to all cultures, races and creeds.

When I was a small boy in Catholic school, our favorite teacher, Sister Attila -- we called her Attila the Nun -- made it very clear that saying "Xmas" was not proper. As a matter of fact, it would be pagan of us to say "Xmas," and for those who risked such an impropriety, the chances were pretty good of spending an eternity in hell, roasting like an Xmas goose.

"If you take out Christ, you won't have Christmas," she used to tell us.

That's true, I thought. Remove Christ, and we'd be left with plain old "mas." How weird would that be?

Change those traditional songs to "We Wish You a Merry Mas," "I'm Dreaming of a White Mas" and "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Mas," and they just wouldn't have the same ring or rhythm to them as the original versions.

Of course, keep in mind that, if you study the lyrics to those songs, you won't find any mention of Christ throughout except in the word Christmas itself. Nor will you in "Silver Bells" or "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

Why bring political correctness into the scheme of holiday things? I've known Jewish people who warmly exchanged "merry CHRISTmas" with me. I've also known folks who professed no real religious faith at all, but they didn't hesitate to share a cup of holiday cheer, nor did they rebuff me when I wished them a "merry CHRISTmas." They even wished it back right back.

With or without Christ, the message of peace and goodwill still rings out loud and clear like the peal of a church bell whenever a heartfelt "merry Christmas" is passed from the lips of one person to the ears of another.

The declaration that Christ is "the reason for the season" has been a fashionable Christmas sentiment over the past few years. People like catchy little phrases, especially if they rhyme. It's that Madison Avenue influence.

Surely Christmas,  as many of us know it, is rooted in the birth of Jesus. Of course, along the way, we've added traditions that stemmed from other cultures, like the Christmas tree, the lights, the holly and garland, the ornaments, the wonderful foods, the wrapping paper and bows and so on.

It's all been blended in a fabulous mix that delights us every December -- and keeps retailers' cash registers ringing.

At the same time, Christians shouldn't be so narrow as to assume we corner the market on Christmas, not where the true meaning of the yuletide spirit is concerned.

"Merry Christmas" isn't solely a religious greeting just because it contains "Christ." It so happens that it's a wonderful offering of friendship that happens to contains Christ's message: Love one another.

The way I see it, to spread that message must be the reason Jesus came to earth.  And not only Christmastime,  but all year long should be the season for the reason.

John and Yoko needn't have replaced Christ with X in order to reach people the world over with their song of peace. Today, we needn't say "season's greetings" or "happy holidays" merely as a politically correct substitute for "merry Christmas."

On the other hand, Christians should be sensitive to the beliefs that non-Christians hold dear to their own hearts. As long as everyone is on the same wavelength of peace on earth, goodwill toward men, does it really make a difference who the messenger is as long as everyone gets the message?

All I am saying, is give peace a chance.  And have a Merry Whatevermas.


Copyright 2010 by Wendel Potter

________

My Lean Halloween Years by Wendel Potter

________ 

As a youngster, I went through two dismal Halloweens with no tasty treats.
 
In Emmetsburg, Iowa, where I was born and lived until I was nearly ten years old, the Halloween celebration achieved a status that ranked right up there with the Fourth of July and V-J Day. Well, almost.

There weren't fireworks lighting up the sky after dark, but porch lights beamed from nearly every house in town, welcoming all the costumed goblins, ghosts, and witches to each door where treats o' plenty were doled out with great kindness and generosity. In a couple of hours' time, we kids hauled in more loot than the James' Gang after a train robbery, enough sweets to get our dentist gleefully warming up his drill and pricing winter homes in Jamaica.

Our M.O. was pretty much like that of Charlie Brown and the "Peanuts" gang. As soon as darkness had fallen, we'd all meet at one house, map out our 20-block strategy, then hit the ground running with large grocery sacks in tow. None of those tiny, plastic pumpkins for us! Volume was our goal.

Then one year Halloween came crashing down for me like a witch shot off her broomstick. We moved to another town across the state that discouraged the very fine art of trick-or-treating.

Worse yet, we lived there for two years! That means on two consecutive Halloweens I wasn't allowed to put on a mask and go door-to-door for candy.

Now this particular town had a twisted posture when it came to trick or treating. The civic leaders wanted to keep the kids home after dark and off front porches. Apparently, they figured if Halloween was assigned a low profile, then the town was less likely to suffer from the rueful tricks of Halloween-inspired vandals.

But their alternative to trick-or-treating stunk. The Chamber of Commerce staged a downtown parade for the youngsters and everyone who participated received a measly bag of tasteless sugar-free candy and was then scooted off the streets and sent home.

I was a well-practiced trick-or-treater. Not only was it not customary for me to walk in the door by seven o'clock on Halloween night, but to return home with less than forty pounds of goodies was a blow to my ego.

The kids in that town never balked at the deprivation, though. They didn't know any better. They hadn't experienced the joys of trotting from one house to another and being handed candy bars, caramel apples, and popcorn balls.

Personally, I was having a sugar fit! I lost weight during those two cruel years. The condition of my teeth even began to improve.

The poor dentist in that town lived in a tar paper shack and had no running water. I heard that he later moved to Pennsylvania where he set up shop across the street from the Hershey chocolate factory and became quite wealthy.

Fortunately we moved, too. We came west to Fullerton, Nebraska where trick-or-treating was happily in fashion and smiling porch lights and sugar highs were the order of the night on October 31st.

By that time, though, I was getting near the age when soon it would be no longer appropriate for me to dress up like a ghoul and demand candy from the citizens. There's a fine line between trick-or-treating and terrorism.

But I still feel like I was cheated out of those two Halloweens. It's just something you can never get back.

Or can you? Let's see. I'll need a mask and a large grocery sack and a map of the neighborhood...

________

Copyright 2004 by Wendel Potter

Jade Needs A Sprinkling of Fairy Dust

Jade is our niece, my sister-in-law's granddaughter.  She's four years old and not much bigger than a two-year old.  

Her size is a sign, or symptom if you will, of a birth defect.  No one knew,  or even suspected.   They just thought she was small for her age.


Her mother was 16 when Jade was born.  Now, only 20, she's learning medical terms like "coarctation of the aorta".

She first heard of that just a couple of weeks ago, when Jade saw her family doctor for a persistent fever, then was hustled off to a specialist at the University of Iowa Health Center.

The aorta is the major artery leading out of the heart.  Coarctation means narrowing.  The effect is that the proper amount of blood is not being pumped through the body.

Heart surgery must be performed to remove the part of the aorta that has narrowed and a graft used to replace it.  Jade's surgery is scheduled for the morning of August 25.

This can be a very risky surgery for a four-year old.  The family has been assured that UIHC Children's Hospital is among the best in the country.  That's comforting.

But the real comfort  will come down the road, when Jade has recovered and can once again play dress up and be a fairy princess which is her very favorite thing.

For now, all Jade knows is that the doctors are going to fix her heart.  She doesn't understand congenital birth defects, coarctation of the aorta, or open heart surgery.


She's not afraid.  Children are only afraid of that which we make them afraid.  

So we are afraid for her.

If you pray, please say one for Jade.  If you don't pray, at least give her a thought.  Good karma, energy, whatever you want to call it, is welcome.

Right now, Jade can use a little sprinkling of fairy dust.  Perhaps we all can.


.....by Wendel Potter
wendelsworld@yahoo.com 

________