Well I’m sitting here at work, about to start a 10-day break and not really feeling the urge to dive into a new project, so I figured I’d write this post a wee bit early.

I don’t really ‘do’ Christmas very much. At least not the modern version full of frustrated shoppers and conspicuous consumption and towers of gaudily wrapped gifts. This year I bought Angela and I one of those single-cup coffee makers and a bunch of hot beverages to make in it, and I paid up her EQ2 for a year in advance. Work’s been drying up for her and money is getting tight so I figured this way at least she’ll know she can play the game she so loves for the next year.

And that’s the full extent of my gift giving/receiving.

So if Christmas isn’t about gifts, what is it about? Well of course there’s the religious aspect but… I’m not religious. At least not in any structured way. Certainly not to the point where Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Christ for me. If it is for you, that’s really awesome and such a wonderful cause for celebration.

But for me ‘modern day’ Christmas is more or less just an excuse for a day off for me. But I do remember when Christmas was a state-of-mind that left me feeling warm and fuzzy. This was back when you could just say “Merry Christmas!” without fear of being politically incorrect. It was back before parents got into fist-fights over the last Cupie Doll on store shelves.

It was back when, around Christmas time, people were more prone to being kind to each other. To smile and hold the door, or offer up a parking spot, or buy a drink for a random stranger at the corner bar. Christmas was a feeling back then. It was warmth in the cold, short days of winter. It was friendship and compassion. It was peace on earth and good will towards your fellow man. Christmas was about spending time with people you care about, not about getting totally stressed-out about whether or not your gifts were up to snuff.

Simpler times, to be sure. Gone forever I suppose.

But be that as it may, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry, Peaceful Christmas and I hope you get to spend it with people you love. Cherish them — friends, family, lovers — they won’t be around forever. And neither will you be.

And while you’re out there doing your last minute shopping, try to remember that everyone else is as harried as you are. Be nice to a stranger, in the spirit of the season. And maybe someone will be nice to you, too.

Bright blessings of the season to you and yours, and thanks for reading my caustic ramblings all year long,

-Pete