Well I've done it again - what I always swore I would never do - produce a 'Round Robin' to put in our Christmas cards! But realistically, I am not going to contemplate repeating the same things time and again just so that they appear more personal. The things of import that have happened to us this year are what I'm writing and the people I intend to send them to will hopefully find this interesting, despite the lack of the 'personal touch'. When you receive a card which just has a signature and a pre-typed address label perhaps that is even more impersonal. Grab a card, sign it, stuff it in an envelope and press 'Print' for all your address labels to be ready to peel and stick! I know everyone is busy but really, what is the point? And all the overspending on gifts that are usually neither needed nor wanted and are on their way back to the returns desk on Boxing Day?
I love Christmas - the lights, the time spent with family, the 'Good will to all men' but we're not buying into the whole commercialisation of Christmas this year. We are not going to have a house groaning with food and enough satsumas to sink a battle ship. The shops will only be closed a day or two at most. We will have a church meeting because 25th falls on a Sunday but we celebrate Jesus every day no longer going over the top on some arbitrary date in December which has its roots in paganism when all is said and done.
So I will send cards to people who I really want to remember and who I wish I kept in more regular contact with; and I'll include the round robin so they are a bit more informed about where we are after a year's passing than "Lots of Love Beverly and Duncan" would tell them. I do hope they all view this as a gesture of love and affection rather than an imposition or a way of not sending a personal greeting.
It will be interesting to read the comments of others Beverly. Standing against a custom always produces both for and against reactions. Well done for standing up for your beliefs.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that - we are looking forward to a much simpler Christmas this year, after quite a few years of gritting our teeth through a lot of it!
ReplyDeleteI agree and Sharon, children and I will be spending Christmas day with extended family and friends eating a BBQ.
ReplyDeleteOur neighbour was taken aback when my oldest (7yrs) told them that we're not decorating our house, nor do we have a christmas tree, nor celebrate Christmas by going to church every night of the week to sing Christmas carols. My neighbour argued with her that it is Christ's birth and we should celebrate it since it's a good tradition. My girl just kept on saying that no one really knows when Jesus was born, no time line is written in the Bible and also that Santa has nothing to do with Christianity so why should we celebrate something that no one is sure about. Needless to say, the neighbour still thinks we're crazy and belongs to one or other sect. It's okay. We love Christmas time and this year we will spend it with my folks, who will drive down to Cape Town for a few days. There will be some eating and some exchanging of gifts, although we told them to keep it small, but mostly we will have family time, since it's been two years we last saw each other.
ReplyDeleteYes I totally agree with you and 'your youngest' Christa. I am tired of people thinking that Christmas and Easter are the 'big events' to be celebrated instead of coming to realise the truth, that every day with Jesus is a big event if you allow it to be!
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