The Parable of the Parent, the Neighbor and the Holidays

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, is it possible to enjoy Christmas, amid all the mercantilism and hype?”

Josh spoke thus:

A parent was complaining to a neighbor.

“Christmas is a sham,” the parent to told a neighbor, “It’s an excuse to talk people into buying things.  Just look at the numbers.  For a large number of retailers, the Christmas season is the difference between solvency and going out of business.”

“What’s wrong with people giving gifts?” the parent’s neighbor said.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving gifts,” the parent said, “But there has to be something wrong with people being told when to give gifts.”

“It’s all the baking I can’t stand,” the parent’s neighbor said, “Every year there’s all the baking, the smell of vanilla and cinnamon and all spice.  And icing.  And gingerbread men.  And then there’s the eggnog!”

“Spiced eggnog!” the parent said.

“Exactly!” the parent’s neighbor said, “Spiked eggnog!”

“And all the parties!” the parent said, “All the office parties, and kids’ parties and sports teams parties scouts parties and church group parties!  I need a vacation every January, just to recover from all the parties!”

“And the smiling,” the parent’s neighbor said, “All the ‘Happy Holidays!’ and the opening doors for people with packages and bags, and the bright look on all the people’s faces.  Children and adults!”

“What’s wrong with being cheerful?” the parent asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with being cheerful,” the parent’s neighbor said, “But there has to be something wrong with being told when to be cheerful.”

“And the music!” the parent said, “The silly, sentimental music!”

“It’s all nostalgia,” the parent’s neighbor said, “The songs are good, some of them, but what makes them all so sentimental is how they remind us of how happy Christmas made us when we were children.”

“And then you see the children happy,” the parent said, “And part of you is jealous, and part of you is nostalgic, and part of you feels that way again.”

“It’s too confusing,” the parent’s neighbor said.

“It’s not fair,” the parent said.

“It’s hypocritical,” the parent’s neighbor said.

“Christmas is nothing but hypocrisy,” the parent said, “It’s lies.  There’s no North Pole.  There’s no Santa Claus.  There’s no happy ending.”

“That’s fairy tales,” the parent’s neighbor said, “Happy endings aren’t from Christmas, they’re from fairy tales.”

“Well Christmas is a fairy tale,” the parent said, “It tells you there will always be good food, and good company, and good music and just good, good, good, good, good.  It’s a lie.

“We should boycott,” the parent’s neighbor said.

Just then the parent’s children and neighbor’s children came home.

“There you are!” the parent said excitedly, “I thought you’d never come home!  The oven’s preheated, and there is lots of icing!  Who wants to help?”

The children rushed excitedly into the kitchen.

“Mind your p’s and q’s!” the parent’s neighbor shouted after her children, “Santa’s watching!”

The parent and the parent’s neighbor looked at each other and smiled.

“We should boycott,” the parent said, and the parent went in to help the children in the kitchen.