W-b Taking Health Survey

Agnes Kaiser 
December 16, 1997 
Agnes R. Kaiser, 85, Of Exeter Avenue, Exeter, Died Tuesday At The Highland 
Manor Nursing Home, Exeter.

Thursday, December 18, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Almost everything these days that seems like Christmas isn't &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Whatever gives you Peace...whatever brings you Joy... That's Christmas,''- &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; message from a corporate Christmas cardYou've got to have sympathy for the
writers of corporate Christmas cards. These cards must appeal to everyone, and
offend no one; generic Christmas cards, if you will. It's a tall order. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 This one, however, isn't a Christmas card at all. Christmas simply isn't
whatever gives you peace or brings you joy. It's much more than that. This bit
of sappy sentimentalism elevates almost anything to the level of Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That happens a great deal, and it shouldn't. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 We know in our hearts that the annual feeding frenzy/Winter Olympics of
Christmas shopping really isn't Christmas, though retailers understandably do
their best to convince us otherwise. This year, D-Day seemed to fall around
Halloween. Since then, my mailbox has disgorged four catalogs a day. About
Dec. 1, they began to trumpet frantically that there was "still time." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Certainly not Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hanukkah isn't Christmas, though the calendar makes them neighbors, and
both commemorate great miracles. Everyone wants to share the Christmas spirit,
and this has led to a connection between holidays that really isn't there. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kwanzaa isn't Christmas, though it's a wonderful idea. It was created in
1996 by a college professor to provide black Americans with an alternative
holiday unique to them. Italian-Americans have Columbus Day and
Irish-Americans St. Patrick's Day; why not a holiday for African-Americans, so
cruelly separated from their African heritage centuries ago? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But Kwanzaa isn't Christmas, any more than Chinese New Year is Rosh
Hashana. December 25th became Christmas for a reason. Pagan tribes under the
Roman Empire celebrated Saturnalia in mid-December, then gave thanks to the
sun god for the lengthening days following the December 20th solstice, with an
orgy of drinking, dancing and well, orgies. When Christianity took hold in
Europe, church fathers decided to offer converts a different holiday in place
of the pagan ones. The sun god was replaced by Jesus- also symbolized by
light- and instead of orgies, a feast was held. The yule log and the Christmas
tree, formerly customs of the tree-worshipping Druids, were also given new
meaning by the church, and remain part of our Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Recently, it has become trendy once again to stage winter solstice
celebrations, as those ancient peoples did. Dancing and drinking, not orgies,
seem to make up the menu, but I suspect that the greatest appeal of these
gatherings lies in a return to a pre-Christian holiday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In other words, something that deliberately isn't Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A lot of Christmas cards take the same approach. The National Wildlife
Federation sells some beauties: foxes romping in the snow, Arctic loons
festooned with holly, cardinals at festive birdfeeders. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though I love (and have actually seen) Arctic loons, I didn't send any of
these cards. Gorgeous and impressive as they are, they're Non-Christmas cards. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even Santa Claus (known to my 2-year-old as "my friend") isn't really
Christmas. I applaud the jolly fellow who came through for me during my
childhood, but our Santa is largely a creation of Clement Moore's poem " The
Night Before Christmas" and the Coca Cola company, known to stockbrokers
everywhere as "my friend." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The real St. Nicholas was a bishop immortalized by a single generous act:
he tossed three bags of gold through the window of a bankrupt local
businessman, one for the support of each of the unfortunate fellow's three
daughters. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Golden Toss occurred about A.D. 350, long before the development of the
reindeer-powered sleigh. The three bags of gold became the three gold balls
that symbolize pawnbrokers. Nicholas is their patron saint- a slightly dubious
honor for a bishop. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Kids used to get presents on St. Nicholas' day in early December, not on
Christmas. Now his day lies forgotten in the attic of the holiday, while the
toys under the tree threaten to overwhelm many American kids and the credit
lines of the Santa's helpers who provide them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But even the hard-won gifts aren't Christmas, are they? They aren't what
the day is about. It's not about the Holiday Spirit, the Spirit of Joy, the
Joy of Giving, or the Magic in our Hearts. Magic is the last thing it's about. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Christmas is about the gift, the one that a family as big as the world got
in such an unlikely place, in such an unexpected way, under that unusually
bright star so many thousand cold blue nights ago. You know the one, don't
you? It's the one we get all over again, every day. Merry Christmas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 David Parmelee is a partner and co-founder of RSA/Fox Automotive, a
Mountaintop sales consulting firm. His column appears on alternate Thursdays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Almost Everything These Days That Seems Like Christmas Isn't 
"whatever Gives You Peace...whatever Brings You Joy... That's Christmas,''- 
Message From A Corporate Christmas Card.

Almost Everything These Days That Seems Like Christmas Isn't "whatever Gives You Peace...whatever Brings You Joy... That's Christmas,''- Message From A Corporate Christmas Card.