Let’s be honest, it has been a wretched year for most. I admit I am ordinarily a Scrooge come XMAS, but this year more than any other I truly, madly deeply want to celebrate this Christmas in all its glory. To bring back some semblance of normality and tradition to this crazy life of 2020, this is my attempt to focus on what Christmas really means, and by sharing it I hope I can undo the parts of Scrooge in me and foster in others the aspiration to do the same. Merry XMAS everyone!
(You can click on any of the images below to get direct contact to the source)
No 1. Do You Believe in Santa Claus?
People have often asked me (especially around this time of year) if I believe in Santa Claus… and I don’t like that question because it’s an attempt to box me up, to put a bow on me in a sense. It’s like, what do you mean, “believe”? We know what Santa looks like. We know what he sounds like. We know how he behaves. We put up pictures and statues of him. We even make offerings to him! (Read entire article)
No 2. Confirmed by mother no less, David Hobson is the greatest singer at Australian Christmas carols.
My favourite Christmas carol ‘O Holy Night’ sung by my favourite Christmas carol singer David Hobson
No 3. The Small One – A Christmas Story (Bing Crosby)
To celebrate this year’s Christmas festivities I would like to present a narration by Bing Crosby of a moving Christmas story called The Small One. I loved listening to this as a child around Christmas time. It was on the same LP (image above) as Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Happy Prince‘ which I posted about in May this year.
No 4 How I always knew Bob Dylan was a ‘Little Boy Drummer’ fan.
Years ago as I awaited my Santa Claus delivery in earnest, I often wondered if Dylan like me was a closet ‘Little Drummer Boy’ fan. Much of Dylan’s music was probably inspired by that song. Why? Because Little drummer boy had the hallmarks of a great Dylan Christmas track if there ever was one. Then low and behold Dylan releases his own exquisite Drummer Boy rendition on his XMAS album.
No 5. The Last Words – “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”
Every new day, every passing minute presents another chance to turn it all around. As Nirvair Singh Khalsa said ‘it’s not the life you lead, but the courage you bring to it’.
The individual is supreme. The divinity of the individual is sacred. In essence it is only the individual who has the moral responsibility and conviction to harness the courage. We are ‘Jesus’ alone in the Mount of Olives. We can’t rely on anyone. There is noone else, because Jesus even felt God had abandoned him in his darkest moment.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
We had the same Bing record. It was very sad: “Swallow, swallow, little swallow” always made me cry!
Hi Bruce! It means a lot to receive your comment at this time. I was just telling my family about your wonderful stories. I think I cried to that record more than anything and why my kids are drowned in it. It’s gorgeous.
Me siento identificada, este año nos cambió a todos, en mi caso soy menos grinch.
I’m a believer… I’ve seen people do things at this time of year more than any other. Jen and I were at the grocery store Saturday and a lady had a handful of 50 dollar gift certificates giving them out to everyone. This would NOT happen in July…this would only happen now. It’s the giving part of Christmas…and that is where Santa fits in…he represents that.
That’s a wonderful expression of giving by that lady you mentioned. I agree such grandiose motions of giving don’t just occur at other times of the year like it does at XMAS. That’s the whole message of XMAS above any other it would seem especially when you consider the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That’s what I find so invigorating about that parody of Jordan Peterson’s response to whether he believes in Santa Claus is his rejection that belief means anything. Because as John personified Jesus in his testament that ‘Jesus is Word made into Flesh’. So it doesn’t matter what you believe, it’s how you act and comport yourself in the world. As you implied that is the importance of recognizing Saint Nicholas from the 4th century, an archetype of sorts worth preserving because it’s about giving rather than just saying stuff.
That was perfectly said Matt… If only we all could have that year round.