Monday, December 24, 2001

Happy Christmas everyone! - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

VANCOUVER -- So tomorrow it’ll be Christmas. I don’t usually do a Christmas column in this space; last year in my first column here at Topica, I did a piece on religion and what it meant for me however. I actually thought of doing a regular piece on politics or something else today. Christmas is a religious holiday of course, but as it has become more and more a commercial kind of conspiracy, religion hasn’t really come into play so much. Christians lament the fact some in the world choose to write ‘Merry X-Mas’, thus making Christ redundant to a mere ‘X’. The son of God an ‘X’? Jesus...

Christmas, for as long as I can remember, has always been a family thing, where my own family -- my Mum and Dad and me -- would throw a do for the outer family of Uncles, Aunts and the lot of them. However, with my Dad back in the Phillipines this month, we won’t have the annual dinner this year and in a way, I’m glad. Putting on the Christmas dinner is always a hell of job and I get so damned tired at the end of the night, it’s not worth it, the presents and all. Tonight, we’ll be having Christmas dinner at an Uncle’s and it should be fun not having the mantle of Host.

I like the time off from school most. After a tremendous work load at school this last month, I’m relishing my new-found time off. I’m grateful for that. I think being grateful is probably what Christmas is all about. Really, one should celebrate the birth of the son of God, however Hallmark has changed things. Whatever religion you happen to practice, I think being grateful for whatever has happened -- the good and the bad -- has got to be something you do these next couple of days. Hopefully, September 11th has made being grateful for stuff more easier.

Every holiday season, I await the annual airing of the Kennedy Center Honors. That’ll air on Wednesday night, and it always is a great show of the finest entertainers America has produced. The Kennedy Center in Washington honours, each year, five artists whose body of work has been of note in the States. This year is no different and it’s always a wonderful tribute show that warms the heart and touches all at the same time. This year, they honour Jack Nicholson, pianist Van Cliburn, Quincy Jones, Julie Andrews and Luciano Pavarotti. If you get the chance tune into CBS and watch their tributes. It’s a yearly treat and I try never to miss the spectacle at the Kennedy Center in Washington. For me, nothing spells the spirit of the season.

I’ll end here and in doing so, lemme wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Whether you celebrate it or not, have a good holiday nonetheless.

Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca