Been doing the Christmas thing. Took a while to get into it because I wasn't sure that I would feel very festive or that I wanted to, after the death of my brother two days after Christmas last year. But you do get caught up in the spirit (at least I do), and that's a good thing. It does give you the opportunity to renew and remember the bonds you have with the people you love, and that's always a good thing. But there's more to it than that. I'm not particularly Christian in my beliefs, and it's my opinion that most, if not all, Christian holidays are just appropriations of older pagan traditions. There may or may not have been an actual Jesus, and he may or may not have been born, conveniently, around the time of the winter solstice. But Christmas is rooted in the old European solstice celebration, which is an affirmation of light and life in the midst of darkness. Of turning toward the sun again. Of faith that nothing ever really dies. And so this is a good time to remember Mike. To light the flame that we hold up to grief, to look at it and to acknowledge that death is part of life and that life goes on, turning like the seasons, toward the sun.
Love ya, Mike.
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