My Lump of Coal

Well it has begun.   The yearly "Merry Christmas" debate.   Like most things these days that are based on utter stupidity and ignorance, this subject just makes my blood boil.   It's the arrogant, self righteous attitude of Christians that they alone own the holiday season.   According to educationalworld.com these are the events and celebrations that occur in the month of December:

 ·  Ramadan (Muslim)

·  Eid al-Fitr (Muslim)

·  Saint Nicholas Day (Christian)

·  Eid'ul-Adha (Muslim)

·  Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexican)

·  St. Lucia Day (Swedish)

·  Hanukkah (Jewish)

·  Christmas Day (Christian)

·  Three Kings Day/Epiphany (Christian)

·  Boxing Day (Australian, Canadian, English, Irish)

·  Kwanzaa (African American)

·  Omisoka (Japanese)

·  Yule (Pagan)

·  Saturnalia (Pagan)

This proves, in my opinion that Merry Christmas is NOT the be all and end all of season greetings.  Furthermore I have NEVER heard of anyone being told they cannot use Merry Christmas if they so choose.   We live in a multicultural society. Christianity is not the only religion in our country.  Say whatever suits your needs.  But also understand the need for an all encompassing greeting that INCLUDES everyone.  Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Peace On Earth might be a great one for these trying times.

People shout "To hell with being Politically Correct I am going to say Merry Christmas and you can just deal with it."   How wonderfully loving of you.   It's not about being politically correct!  It's about being inclusive.  It's about respecting the differences each of us has.   The word Politically Correct implies that not using a certain term would result in offense to someone.  Where is the offense in any of this?  What if someone said Merry Christmas you said Happy Hannukah back.  Would the world end?

Someone even said to me today  "..it's an AMERICAN tradition by our founding members..".  Seriously??  Where does this person think our founding members come from???   If we really want to honour our American tradition (and by American I mean all North Americans) we should be celebrating Winter Solstice and not Christmas at all.  In fact, the Indian blood coursing through my own veins abhors the thought of anything Christian while the European blood loves the lights and the music.

This whole debate just annoys the hell out of me because it goes against the meaning of the whole season.  Peace on earth and love for your fellow human beings.   Why such vitriol and hostility about a statement?

Businesses and government institutions should be required to honour all of their retail demographic and their taxpayers by using all inclusive...not politically correct....phrases to celebrate the diversity of  Candians.

My Unitarian beliefs encourage me to respect the inherent worth and dignity of all people.  And I try to do that. We honour all of the religions in our church.  So if someone comes up to me and says Merry Christmas, I don't feel offended because I don't celebrate Christmas.  They aren't wishing me ill.  It's a positive greeting, for a season of fellowship and love, no matter what you call it.

Back in the winter, I was intrigued by the appearance of bike racks at various spots throughout the city.   I figured it was to encourage people to ride their bikes more and provide a place to park the bikes other than parking meters.   It reminded me of hitching posts back in the day (not a day I was part of mind you).   Several weeks later I was quite excited to see trucks full of  wonderful bright blue bikes being installed in the bike racks.  In the snow.  The bikes have the words SoBi on them and I looked it up on the internet and discovered that my city now has a Social Bicycle program.   Bikes that you can use for an hour at a time.  Bikes that you don't have drag in to the elevator and haul through your apartment to leave on your balcony and never ride because it is too much of a hassle.   I wanted to ride these bikes in the worst way!

 As a child and teenager I loved bicycling.  I always felt so free on my bike, the wind blowing through my hair and the soft swish of the tires, on the road, the tick tick ticking of the gears.   Forgotten were the numerous spills and the agonizing moments of pulling my pants or socks out of the chain.   I wanted to recapture that glory and here were these blue beauties just waiting for me. There was a rack of them right outside my building!

 Now those who know me know that there is often a great deal of time that elapses between me saying I am going to do something and me actually doing it.   They also know there is a great deal of discussion, on my part, of how I am going to do it, where I am going to go, all the wonderful benefits of doing what ever it is I am planning on doing.   So it was with the SoBi.   First of all I had to wait for the snow to melt.  That took a while and it took longer for the weather  to actually warm up.  You can't ride a bike in the cold, I told myself, it's bad for the lungs...or something I think I read somewhere.   Then I had to buy a helmet.  It is ridiculous to even consider riding in the city with no helmet.   And that presented it's own set of problems, having to go to the store and pick one out,  knowing what brand to buy, and overcoming the total dork factor of wearing one  I finally bought a lovely turquoise and white one.  Just as the intense heat wave hit.  So I waited it out.  Dreaming of the day when I would pop my little dog in the basket and take off to parts unknown.   I had a plan.  We would practice under cover of darkness so I could get my bearings with out anyone watching.   I usually walk the dog late at night anyway because of her attitude towards other dogs.   And the traffic is lighter.  It was going to be wonderful!

Finally last week I decided I would have to get out on that bike or wait till spring.  So.  I got a little basket for Sadie, and we headed across the street to the racks.  I forgot the helmet but knew if I had to go back up and get it I would  lose my resolve.  The basket fit perfectly in the bike's carrier basket and I lifted her and she lay down, puzzled, but cooperative.  Putting in my account number and unhooking the bike was much easier than I thought it would be.  Off to a good start.

Now we come to the part where I wish a friend had been there to video tape me.  I could not get that damned bike going!   I could not get enough speed to get my balance and pedal.   I was terribly frustrated.  The whole fiasco lasted about 5 minutes with me in the middle of the intersection, bike between my legs, one foot on the road, one foot on the pedal and pushing to get started. And failing.  Every time I tried to get going the bike would over balance.   I tried from the curb.  I tried on a hill.  I was both cursing and laughing and I was sure there must have been some people sitting out on their balconies having a good laugh.  I tried not to think about that.

Finally I realized the problem.  It was the dog in the basket.  I have never been good at physics.   The dog in the basket was unbalancing the bike and preventing me from riding it.  She was perfectly still.  But the weight of her was working against me.  So, I gave up and walked the bike over to the rack, parked it and walked home, tail between my legs so to speak.

As for the dog?   She took it all in stride, but I am sure she is wondering about that strange walk we had the other night!   I will try again another time, when the rain stops.  Without the dog.  And maybe in another neighbourhood.