A New Blog

Hello,

Welcome to a new Blog. Here is just an area to let off steam and air views. They may be about anything and i am sure we all have a view on most things be it current affairs or something as trivial as how big Wagon Wheel biscuits are - and i am sure they are smaller - but within reason it all goes!!

So here is a start about Christmas.......

There is a week left before the big days start and am i alone this year in thinking something here is wrong...... Well i think not, everyone i speak to is also very cheesed off by the whole thing and the expectations that peer pressure and media adverts have started, for those of us with children this is worse!! every parent i know is trying to keep Santa and Christmas alive whilst worrying stupid about the expectation our children and others have and how to meet this. Let us be honest how many of us can really afford Wii's, PS3's, Computers and R/C stuff ??

Now i am not religious and my 3 boys (10, 7 and 4) can make up their own minds about things

BUT

• Whether or not we believe around 2000 years ago something happened
• Whether there really was a Jesus i guess we won't know, if he was the Son of God again we won't know.
• We celebrate the birth of a certain Baby on the 25th December, and the legend and story of his life has survived for over 2000 years and a whole religion is founded upon it.
• Now, somehow the story surrounding Jesus, or a great writer like modern day J K Rowling or Phillip Pullman did a great job, survives as possibly the greatest stories ever told
• Whether or not we like the idea something occured and the foundation of modernism is based on this - Christians believe, others don't. Individuals believe, others don't.

And so to Today, now, December 17th 2007.

I am not suggesting we all rush off to Church, i am not suggesting we all go to Christmas Mass. Indeed although married to a C 0f E wife i was brought up Jewish and now in my late 30's don't actually follow anything anymore.

But surely Christmas gives us a chance to "step off the roundabout" and just spend a few days being with our families and friends and celebrating whatever, but more importantly, enjoying the company of whoever - Friends, Family, Strangers or just Ourselves.

Maybe if we all stopped worrying about expectation and how to solve problems these generate, and taught the same message to our kids, maybe, just maybe, we will stand a chance of getting through Christmas and actually enjoying it and reflecting on the year passed rather than the blind panic of when do the shops open again so we can get the kids (or whoever) more presents that they now want!!

That is it todays rant over...........

I would love any views you all have on this or any other subject. And thank you for listening to me.