What I most enjoy about Christmas is watching the overheated consumerist bullet train come to a halt. The signs begin Christmas Eve morning, when the crowds in the stores are not quite as intense as they have been. Inside, everything is picked over, most of the sales are past. The elusive empty parking space makes its appearance here and there. The merchants, having have already locked in most of their profits for the season, are contentedly winding down.
People get out of work early on Christmas Eve, and the roads at noon are jammed like rush hour. But by the time the normal rush hour comes, most people are home and the roads are open, almost lonely.
Even TV falls in step. Most of the Christmas specials have already aired, and except for the zombies that are news reporters most of the programming is reruns. I contentedly picture an empty broadcast room, with a lone computer queued up with hours of Yule Log videos and movies from the Spirit of Christmas past, although I know this image is a slight exaggeration.
One welcome change: the Christmas commercials taper off. (There are still Christmas themed commericals, but no more commercials for Christmas gifts.) By Christmas Eve the shopping season is over -- a Christmas ad on December 24 is like a political ad the afternoon of election day.
Somehow, a celestial finger touches the switch of our enormous buying-and-selling machine, and turns the sucker off.
Politicians follow suit. The presidential candidates go home for the holidays, taking their egotistical mania with them, and we need to pause over our Christmas dinners and give thanks to the families of the politicians for taking them off our hands for a few days.
Of course the machine never quite stops. My email box never ceases to fill up with offers, and there is always background noise. Somebody still has a buck left and somebody is chasing after it in the noisiest possible way. But Christmas Eve and Christmas day are as quiet as it ever gets.
Quiet, if not from the desire to stop, then at least from exhaustion. One respite can be just as welcome as the other.
If Christmas is about anything, it is about peace. Peace on earth. Many people these days brush aside the teachings of Jesus, but if Jesus' teachings were about anything they are about peace. Among his last teachings to his disciples was, "Peace be with you."
Peace is not just outer peace but inner as well. Inner peace, in fact, is far more important than outer peace. What does it mean? Its meaning is probably different for every person, but for me inner peace means acceptance of things as they are. Thankfulness for what I have, and no desire for more. Absence of greed. Absence of pride and arrogance. Desire only to love others and care for them.
This is a hard place to find. Almost impossible in a din. That is why it is so important that we have quiet days, days to rest, to be thankful, days to sip the stillness.
Silent night. Holy Night.
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