wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Dan from NJ November 28, 2007 - 11:49AM

  Many people have not yet realized that they can separate meaning and spirituality from religion. This is not aided by the bigotry of the culture against those who are atheistic or areligious.

  Dan

  
  
• [2] mark from nyc November 28, 2007 - 11:53AM

  this year is the first year i'm not at home for christmas, i'm 29, and just feel nothing of a spirituality towards christmas, i'm looking forward to just having some nice time in the city, and hoping it snows on my day off!!

  
  
• [3] john freund from ridgefield park nj November 28, 2007 - 11:56AM

  Here is my(our) musical commentary on Xma$ (not to be confused with Christmas). (MP3 link on page.)

  http://www.biggerthanabreadbox.com/xmas.htm

  John

  
  
• [4] Sue from North Salem, NY November 28, 2007 - 11:56AM

  I often find myself wishing Santa Claus were real. If only there really could be something magical in life....if just once I could be looking at the skies on Christmas Eve and see a reindeer-drawn sled fly across the moon....I'm 39.

  
  
• [5] leif parsons from brooklyn November 28, 2007 - 11:56AM

  within the context of consumption there is a time to think about those you love and what is important to them

  A gesture that gives you a moment to concentrate on others

  
  
• [6] wanda November 28, 2007 - 11:56AM

  why can't this thing called christmas just be celebrated as a festival of lights. ---and, christmas as we celebrate it is u.s.a. is going to be stressfull because its meaning has been so badly compromised. i agree with lindsey, wholeheartedly !!!

  
  
• [7] Amy from Manhattan November 28, 2007 - 11:57AM

  I just turned 40 and love the music, food, stories, decorations, and company of Christmas. To fight the growing commercialization of the holidays, I'm sending emails to all my friends this year asking them which charities they would like me to donate to in their names. In this time of war and hunger throughout the world, it seems bizarre to me to buy expensive gifts for each other and send them across this unbelievably wealthy country. We have more than enough while others worldwide are suffering.

  
  
• [8] Carole from New Jersey November 28, 2007 - 11:58AM

  I've always been one who liked Thanksgiving more than Christmas, because it didn't have the "baggage" of gifts and guilt. I grew up pretty poor, but we didn't notice it, because there were five kids and my parents did the best they could.

  I've always wanted it to just be about togetherness. I reject the consumer nonsense. My husband and I made it a quiet time to enjoy each other, buying a gift for ourselves if we wanted something specific, but mostly about being together and with family. He passed away a year and a half ago, after getting sick around the holidays, and since then, it's just quiet emptiness. I don't know if I'll ever recover the old warm feelings, because it all seems mocking now. I see past the shell of lights and decorations to people trying to desperately make themselves happy ... somehow. Mostly I feel detached from it all.

  
  
• [9] John from Brooklyn November 28, 2007 - 11:59AM

  Lord, how depressing! I am 48 and I am glad I'll be dead in 30 years -- this generation is utterly bereft and vapid.

  Depressing!

  
  
• [10] TM from Brooklyn November 28, 2007 - 12:00PM

  I had to learn that doing what my grandparents want me to do for a few days each year-- - does not make me a hypocrite, does not make me any less of who I have found myself to be, and does not make me less of an adult. What would be childish would be to begrudge them the pleasure and/or reassurance they get from my company at times that are special to them.

  "Tolerance" has to go both ways. That's what adulthood means.

  
  
• [11] Mark Economos from Scarsdale, NY November 28, 2007 - 12:00PM

  Brian, I would suggest something sometimes missed as it isn't warped by consumerism (to the degree of the surrounding event-days): The best of this season, held for better against corruption is what has just passed, blissfully:

  Thanksgiving. This, my family and friends agree is the best celebration of the season. It is a protected bubble of warmth and exemplifies what giving is all about, giving thanks for what you have, giving love, and bathing in security.

  I hope that your thanksgiving was a thoughtful one.

  Mark Economos

  Scarsdale, NY

  sorry that I just missed out on the showtime (LiveMail is screwing up - it's MicroSoft)

  
  
• [12] Bo from Brooklyn - Prospect Heights November 28, 2007 - 12:01PM

  The lack of understanding of the callers on the "meaning of the holidays" is really just appalling.

  The idea that "it's only for the children" or that it has to have something to do with religiousity, Christian or Judaic, shows just how far we are from a real understanding of what "spiritual" means, i.e. a connection with one's self and the world.

  There are actual, physical reasons these holidays happen around this time of the year, just as there are similar reasons for the timing of other holidays: the solstices and the equinoxes and the deep human need to connect with the world around them and explain things that are largely unexplainable.

  This holiday is about "the birth of a savior" which seems, at the very least, poetically well connected to the idea of "the return of the sun" (son?) Just as Easter is connected to the return of fertility (and was once celebrated with fertility festivals and outdoor sex!) and Halloween and other similarly timed holidays are connected with the harvest, and the preparations for the cold dark winter, Christmas/Hannukah etc are all connected to the solstice, the lengthening of the days, and the return of the life-giving warmth and light, and the turning of the seasons. Meaning enough for any generation in my book. And nothing whatsoever to do with "consuming."

  
  
• [13] Michelle from Hackensack November 28, 2007 - 12:05PM

  To say that our generation is bereft and vapid misses the point. I struggle to find meaning in a holiday that is not a part of the religion I now belong to (non-Christian) but still wish to have that special time with my family, who is, and has been for decades, Catholic. The fact that my parents make it a religious debate rather than a pleasant holiday makes me feel alienated, and for them or anyone else to say that I've not found spiritual fulfillment or that I am somehow bankrupt of emotional or religious meaning is narrow-minded, and sucks the meaning right out of what should be a fun, festive event.

  
  
• [14] john freund from ridgefield park nj November 28, 2007 - 12:06PM

  "this generation is utterly bereft and vapid."

  Nah. Media Advertising is utterly bereft and vapid. I think individuals find some way to draw meaning from their day to day and Holiday (all of them) experiences in spite of the assault...granted the bright lights do cast some shadows...

  /John

  
  
• [15] carol from fair lawn, nj November 28, 2007 - 01:16PM

  I would like to know about the young jewish congregation that met without a rabbi, but conducted their own discussion and service. A caller talked about it and Brian Lehrer said there was an article in today's NYT about it as well. However, I bought the NYT and could not find information.

  Really appreciate any info. Thanks for your efforts. Carol D.

  
  
• [16] John from Brooklyn November 28, 2007 - 01:33PM

  Michelle,

  I am sorry if you took umbrage at my comment, but I would urge you to not be so invested in the spiritual bankruptcy you experience. There are so many things you can do, during the holiday season, that will fulfill you, sustain you and bring you pure, unadulterated JOY! Volunteer, visit the homebound, do something for somebody that tells them that they are NOT invisible and that they do matter.

  It's very easy to blame family for the alienation of which you speak. It's also very easy to start your OWN traditions and be proactive in your life.

  Whatever the upshot, I am rooting for you!

  All the best of the season to you.

  John

  
  
• [17] Francyne Pelchar from NYC November 30, 2007 - 08:46AM

  I agree with Nora and the other under 40ies about abhoring the dreadful overthetop commercialism of the holiday. I'm well over 40 and for most of my life have totally avoided celebrating christmas save for sending cards and going to a few parties.

  Now I have a new partner; his family is totally into it. I went last year and it was hellish. I'm going this year, but have told him "Next year, I'll be out of the country".