tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post6354939036815100788..comments2024-03-26T08:18:06.895-04:00Comments on Moristotle & Co.: The Loneliest Liberal’s Christmas magicUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-22630664629715098052016-01-04T16:19:48.977-05:002016-01-04T16:19:48.977-05:00Maybe my truly negative memories are the ones in c...Maybe my truly negative memories are the ones in church at midnight on Christmas Eve trying to experience something said to be real that really wasn't. What a downer.Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-79055374576261434042016-01-04T15:27:39.649-05:002016-01-04T15:27:39.649-05:00Gosh, I sure hope that this little boy here experi...Gosh, I sure hope that this little boy here experienced some of that family warmth, love, and fun, and that I now imagine not only because of the mostly negative associations I have with Christmas as an old adult. I remember being frightened by Uncle Vernon's (or Uncle Leo's) rambunctious Santa Claus, but back out of impish costume he would have resumed his human benevolence.Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-6780785672713152712016-01-04T15:14:02.212-05:002016-01-04T15:14:02.212-05:00Yes, I was snottily aware of the banality of it al...Yes, I was snottily aware of the banality of it all, too, starting far too young. The magic I was aware of was the family gatherings, large and small. They were mostly warm, loving, and fun.Chucknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-65721859215869325012016-01-04T09:49:50.890-05:002016-01-04T09:49:50.890-05:00I have some evidence (perhaps) that as a child I c...I have some evidence (perhaps) that as a child I could perceive banality. My daughter was able to perceive "as a kid," as she told me, that there is no God. Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-89135123392278058662016-01-04T09:42:24.304-05:002016-01-04T09:42:24.304-05:00As I said yesterday, "I could be wrong,"...As I said yesterday, "I could be wrong," and I have to wonder whether this little boy that I was could perceive the banality of Christmas trees, reindeer, elves, and Santa Clauses. But how other than banal could they possibly seem – then or now?Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-40719628974534356442016-01-03T10:36:49.339-05:002016-01-03T10:36:49.339-05:00Chuck, your comment made me ask what seems to have...Chuck, your comment made me ask what seems to have been the driver of Christmas observance in <i>my</i> family. My sense (though it could be wrong) is that my family's observance had nothing to do with magic, though perhaps a bit with religious belief. No, it strikes me that it was essentially a manifestation of the ubiquitous fealty to tradition, or to doing again "what we've always done," or doing what everyone else is doing. Peggy Payne, in her Christmas Eve post on her Sex & Spirituality blog, wrote that she and her husband don't much like being told when or how to celebrate. Well, possibly as a reaction to my family's empty-seeming, repetitive Christmases, I don't like being told to celebrate at all.Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-44170907109843238682016-01-03T00:22:39.464-05:002016-01-03T00:22:39.464-05:00Thanks, James. My mother never stopped believing ...Thanks, James. My mother never stopped believing that Christmas was magical, and made it be so. Even though the theology never quite took, and I asked curiously why there was a "Tonka" label on the truck Santa just gave me....<br />I miss those Christmases so! Alas, the tribe is so widely scattered that the gathering of the clan has never happened since my mother died.Chucknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-74151712880932474552015-12-31T07:54:35.643-05:002015-12-31T07:54:35.643-05:00To those new to Blogger: Blogger can seem daunting...<i><b>To those new to Blogger</b></i>: Blogger can seem daunting to new commenters. Many commenters just select "Comment as" Anonymous and "sign" their name in the body of their comment. Or select "Comment as" Name/URL" and give their name in the "Name" field (leaving the "URL" field blank). In any case, ALWAYS copy the text of your comment to the pasteboard prior to clicking "Preview" or "Publish," in case the comment goes into "Google Land," and you need to re-enter it. (I always do this myself.)Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28676316.post-3158691812832580742015-12-26T08:05:09.826-05:002015-12-26T08:05:09.826-05:00Thank you, James, for this loving description of y...Thank you, James, for this loving description of your mother’s family's celebration of Christmas!Moristotlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02211602374384087074noreply@blogger.com