Oh, shoot. I wanted my piece to be late enough to be topical, but evidently it wasn't early enough to be timely!
As to whether there is a real meaning of Christmas or not, that's probably a more interesting question. Obviously there's no real meaning of Christmas, in the sense that words have only arbitrary meaning. But in the sense that "a celebration in late December spanning multiple millennia and multiple continents, which can be traced back to peoples living in the midlattitudes of the northern hemisphere has a cause," that cause is very likely to be, or include, the winter solstice.
I was speaking informally for the sake of making a joke when I talked about the meaning being consumerism. The word "meaning" itself is one of those words whose meaning feels fuzzy; I complain about it here at https://thingstoread.substack.com/i/104062026/is-life-worth-living
In the sense that "the behavioral norms of Christmas as it is typically celebrated have a result," the result (or a result) is consumerism.
In the sense that "Christmas has a cause," that cause (or a cause) is the Winter Solstice.
Maybe this is what you were actually getting at in your own post? I tend to be very skeptical about the claim that meaning is something we make for ourselves.
I think there is no "real meaning of Christmas". It is what you make it.
And what you have made it looks interesting. I might try and inspire my family to do something like that next year.
Oh, shoot. I wanted my piece to be late enough to be topical, but evidently it wasn't early enough to be timely!
As to whether there is a real meaning of Christmas or not, that's probably a more interesting question. Obviously there's no real meaning of Christmas, in the sense that words have only arbitrary meaning. But in the sense that "a celebration in late December spanning multiple millennia and multiple continents, which can be traced back to peoples living in the midlattitudes of the northern hemisphere has a cause," that cause is very likely to be, or include, the winter solstice.
You said the meaning was consumerism though. Which is too late to be the cause.
I was speaking informally for the sake of making a joke when I talked about the meaning being consumerism. The word "meaning" itself is one of those words whose meaning feels fuzzy; I complain about it here at https://thingstoread.substack.com/i/104062026/is-life-worth-living
In the sense that "the behavioral norms of Christmas as it is typically celebrated have a result," the result (or a result) is consumerism.
In the sense that "Christmas has a cause," that cause (or a cause) is the Winter Solstice.
Maybe this is what you were actually getting at in your own post? I tend to be very skeptical about the claim that meaning is something we make for ourselves.
I've never been entirely sure what "meaning" means outside of words, but I think I was using it there to mean "purpose".
I wish I was as good as you at celebrating things.
I should have said "growing things" *hits forehead*
Ha ha, I looked around our house and thought: I wish that was true.
Life draws on different skillsets; I suspect I'm not as good as you at building or cleaning things.