PolyFamilies
Home
The Polyamorous Misanthrope
Emotional Issues
Practical Issues
Just for Fun
Site Map
Contact Us
What is Polyamory?
Recommended Reading
RSS Feeds

Poly Meetings!


Featuring Spice!  -- The PolyFamily Web Comic

Polyamory for the Practical

The Polyamorous Misanthrope

Add to My Yahoo!

Welcome to the The Polyamorous Misanthrope, in which myself, the Goddess of Java, or some guest columnist will rant, rave and otherwise edify on some poly subject.   If you have an idea for a column or a rant on spike, contact me and we'll talk it over.   For past articles, check out the Archive .

The Holiday Spirit

Well, honestly? I think a lot of people who complain about not having any holiday spirit do so because they don't feel that they're festive enough, rather than accepting whatever level of festiveness they happen to feel at the moment. I mean, you're not going to feel wonderful just because it happens to be a holiday.

-- Me, in a conversation with a close friend

Mama Java, she loves Christmas. A lot. It's her birthday, and she was named for it, after all.

Now, I've known a lot of people who don't like the holiday season. In spite of my own love of it, I can understand. Christmas, by its name, is considered a Christian holiday, and the non-Christians often feel overshadowed. They don't get the day off for Solstice, or they feel sick of the manger scenes, their religion doesn't necessarily have all that big of a winter festival, the menorah lights have been cold for days, or the family gathering where they're getting picked on for their religion. That's no picnic.

Then there's the commercialism, the pressure to buy and buy and buy, and the wondering how you're going to afford all this, the fear that you're going to leave someone important out on your gift list. You feel guilty if you get your kids too little; feel guilty if you give your kids too much stuff. You get loaded down with knickknacks that mean nothing to you.

Then there's the hectic schedule -- the holiday concerts and parties and visits to and from relatives. Relatives. There's a can of worms all in and of itself! You feel guilty if you don't go to see people you're related to. You feel guilty if you do go and aren't thrilled.

It can be a real mess.*

I really do think that we often (myself included) miss the real meaning of the season -- no matter your religion or lack thereof.

I have always thought of Christmas as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

-- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Do we always do this? Of course not. We're human beings and we're not perfect. But to me, the holiday season, what with the light coming back at Solstice, the anticipation of a rebirth and renewal of spirit is a time to remember and recommit to open the heart, to honor the ties we value, and to be open to what really matters in life -- the love that we do hold for people in our lives.

What are some things one can do to honor the actual spirit of this time of the year?

  • Don't try to have "the perfect holiday".

    Poly families are notoriously blended families. You know, you may have had a certain ornament you just had to hang in a certain place and if you didn't, you feel like the holiday is spoiled, but your partners probably did not grow up with this specific tradition. Don't be too focused on How the Holiday Should Be. Be open to celebrating in different ways.

  • Let go of holiday guilt

    Maybe you don't have much money, and aren't going to be able to buy much. Maybe you're going through a bad time personally. You don't have to make that gingerbread train with the hand made candy lake, ice skaters and train station. If you're in the mood, great. If not, don't feel guilty.

  • Don't let the joy of the holiday be dependant on how other people act


  • There's not a thing wrong with lighting a candle and mediating on the season, or playing a meaningful game with the kids (and letting go of the expectation of whether or not they're going to have bright, shining innocent faces, or if they're going to be whiny, sugar-hyper little brats), playing an album that means a lot to you (by the way Christmas Eve and Other Stories is flat out my favorite seasonal album. ROCKS, ROCKS, I tell you!), or anything special that doesn't require a lot of externals. For me, at least, the thing that matters most is what is in the heart. Don't let your Holiday happiness rely on whether or not Uncle Jim gets drunk like he does every damned year and starts getting obnoxious.

  • If you're feeling Scroogish, let go of any guilt about it.

  • If it just isn't your thing, it isn't. That's okay.

In the end, it's not about religion, it's not about money. It's the heart. It's always the heart and the joy and celebration of life and light and birth and love.

In the words of The Ghost of Christmas Present:

Come in! Come in, and know Me better, Man!

*How does this relate to poly? Multiply the loves, in-laws, out-laws, kids and family and you get it times ten. At least!

Previous ---- Next


Article Archive

To subscribe to site updates, send an email to announcements-subscribe@lists.polyfamilies.com



A portrait of the Goddess of Java rendered by the Goddess of Giggle
Lemme Know Whatcha Think.
Name
Your E-Mail Address


Feedback



Copyright © 2004, PolyFamilies, All Rights Reserved.




Click here to subscribe to the PolyFamilies announcements list. This is not a discussion list, but merely a list that will let you get updates to the site and announcement about PolyFamilies events.











If you're actually a member of a poly family, you can join this list. Most of us find it refreshing to be able to discuss poly issues with people who "live the dream" as it were.   You don't actually have to be a member of a poly marriage to join, but most members are.
Subscribe to polyfamilies
Powered by groups.yahoo.com