Christmas

Christmas eve: Work would stop as soon as the 'operations' were done. No, I'm not a surgeon! The operations are the daily activities that must be completed to keep the business running. Needless to say there were problems, so we didn't finish until nearly 3pm. By the time the worsening bus service delivered a bus it was closer to 4pm than 3pm, and I arrived home exhausted. I snoozed on the bus - unheard of.
So Christingles were given a miss in favour of sleeping in front of the TV. Worship is important, but so is rest. By the time 11:30 came I was more awake, and looking froward to the service. The church was not very full this year, not as many people as last year. It varies from year to year, but the general trend for this service is downwards. Christingles on the other hand still draw large numbers. Christmas is for the children, and a high percentage of people do not believe in the Christmas story. It's a fairy tale they say, apparently. The opportunity is taken by the Humanists - the BHA and the NSS to make their case such as it is. The statistic (which I can't remember - numbers aren't everything) is hardly surprising. The traditional carols do seem to promote a fairy tale, mixing shepherds and wise men. Tell the story properly, without the propaganda (Once in Royal Davids city - christian children should be like Jesus: mild and obedient. There is no evidence that Jesus was mild at any time in his life, and his only obedience was to God). Tell it more like it happened, and see how real it can be!

Christmas day was also fairly sparsly attended, it seemed. Then it was home for Christmas lunch - at home for the first time since we had children. So the traditions of the last 20+ years were overthrown, and we opened presents on Christmas day.

I spent boxing day catching up on various books and fighting with Norton. You can read the review of On the Edge by Richard hammond here or follow the link to Goodreads.



In my last entry, I spoke of the hope that the Apollo missions brought to the younger generation at the time (me included). Since then I have discovered other hopes that are more important - the hope provided by the visit of God to earth in human form. The hope that people will begin to truly care for each other, and that heaven will start to be lived on earth. The scientists have done a lot to help us get there in the last 40 years. There is (just about) enough food for everyone now. Many diseases are preventable, or at least can have their effects minimised. All we have to do is learn to live in the real world in harmony, mutual respect and to support those who cannot support themselves. The Christian 'stories' had inspired many people to improve the society they live in. In recent years those improvements have begun to be undone, as the balance begins to tips towards rights and away from responsibilities, and as the balance tips away from faith in God to faith in man.