Not About Rocky Balboa…

… Or George Forman, or Ali, or even Sugar Ray Lenard. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, Boxing Day is:

“Boxing Day was traditionally a day on which the servants had a day off from their duties. Because of this the gentry would eat cold cuts and have a buffet-style feast prepared by the servants in advance. In modern times many families will still follow this tradition by eating a family-style buffet lunch, with cold cuts rather than a full cooked meal. It is a time for family, parlor games and sports in the UK.

“The traditional recorded celebration of Boxing Day has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions. The European tradition has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown and there are some claims that it goes back to the late Roman/early Christian era; metal boxes were placed outside churches used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen.

“In the United Kingdom it certainly became a custom of the nineteenth century Victorians for tradesmen to collect their "Christmas boxes" or gifts in return for good and reliable service throughout the year on the day after Christmas. However, the exact etymology of the term "Boxing" is unclear, with several competing theories, none of which is definitively true. Another possibility is that the name derives from an old English tradition: in exchange for ensuring that wealthy landowners' Christmases ran smoothly, their servants were allowed to take the 26th off to visit their families. The employers gave each servant a box containing gifts and bonuses (and sometimes leftover food). In addition, around the 1800s, churches opened their alms boxes (boxes where people place monetary donations) and distributed the contents to the poor.”

Though, today it seems like a Part II of X-mas (and yes, I said X-mas, in case you read the last blog, I’m emphasizing what it has evolved into) with stores open for shopping. It was alright. I’m a big fan of being around people, so, any excuses, even the slightest one, is a good excuse to be around people. It’s Christ’s Mass that worries me.

I’ve tried the last couple years to get into the spirit, and for the most part, I’ve done a fairly decent job of it leading up to Christ’s Mass, but then the excitement fizzles out by the time the actual day comes. I feel bad. I told many people, “Christ’s Mass away from home shouldn’t be all that bad, it’s not my favorite Holy Day anyway, and so, it shouldn’t affect me that much. But it did. To a surprising degree. I experienced home sickness for the 2nd time in my life. Then it made all the hard work I did to get myself in the spirit seems useless. My Aussie family worked so hard to make me feel at home and enjoy myself, and I feel bad as though I let them down in accepting it. Jan seemed to understand quite well, which made me feel better as though I had done my part in accepting all the hospitality. It did however concern me…

Will I ever fully like Christ’s Mass? Will I need to be visited by 3 ghosts? I hope not, not again anyway. Even the Grinch, whose heart was 3 sizes too small, grew to 3 sizes too big. It’s not even so much for me. What if I get married to someone who is an uber-fan of Christ’s Mass? What if I have kids someday? I want them to be able to enjoy Christ’s Mass. Even if I could just improve my acting skills so that NO one could notice a difference and everyone believed that I liked Christ’s Mass. That is the cheap way out I realize. I’ve been told that I have one of those personalities that radiates and affects the mood of others, which is one reason people have a hard time being honest with me, but I don’t want my negative attitude to change others. Especially others I care about. If I do get married and have kids, I pray that God will give me the strength to change, for them, not for me. I don’t think God even cares if I celebrate His birth on a specific date picked my some guy in Rome a few centuries ago to make everyone feel better about themselves for throwing a party, why? Because we can (and should) celebrate it every single day. But I would hate to be responsible for others to not thoroughly enjoy a day that is designed to be filled with such joy and celebration. A day that is so filled with the opportunity of family togetherness which everyone should take advantage of.

I guess it goes back to the theme of the last blog…

I want: to be happy at Christ’s Mass

I need: to show God’s love to others so that they may partake in the joy also…

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, you might just find… You get what you need” I’m sure this scenario is no different

God help any kids I have though.