Nobody asked, but am I the only one that thinks rushing every holiday season seems to accelerate every year in our frenzied society?
Every special event on the calendar appears to blur together.
It’s like can you remember whenever there was not a “two-for” sale at Joseph A. Banks!
The kids’ Halloween candy treats were not even counted when Thanksgiving tables were being discussed and decorated.
Now, as December is only days to dawning, we already have been bombarded by weeks of Christmas music filling the air, brigades of pseudo-Santa Clauses jingling their bells, and stores and online merchants of all ilk initiating traditional “Black Friday” sales far earlier and for far beyond just the day after Thanksgiving.
Undoubtedly the recent surge of warm weather inspired many families to swathe their houses and lawns with twinkling lights of many colors (or install a digital projector) to illuminate their property.
Sparkling, electronic icicles, lighted inflated snowmen and frolicking elves, and even larger-than-life Santa Claus figures, come ablaze with each descending nightfall in neighborhoods all along the Main Line.
Many of those signatures of the season would have gone up anyway, despite the weather.
Acknowledging the hustle and bustle (boy, is that an archaic phrase!) of decorating, shopping, party-giving, and party-going, by the time Christmas Day arrives, many of us are all but bereft of the spirit that is the crux of why we celebrate the day in the first place.
Like in so many holiday “seasons,” our collective mad rush to take part in those times of extraordinary joy, we all too often become overwhelmed by the trappings and lose sight of the real meaning.
In view of the cascading acceleration of holiday observances, please allow Banter to be among the first to wish you a Happy Easter!
Nobody asked, but with that said, we got to wondering what is the most important part of the Christmas holiday season?
Is it being awed by the brightly lit ornaments and displays? Is it the singing of favorite carols with family and friends?
Is it watching your youngster(s) sitting on Santa’s accommodating lap (if that is even acceptable behavior in our ever-evolving PC world) while he bellows a hearty “ho-ho-ho?”
Is it the exchange of gifts in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Is it enjoying the festive holiday table with aromas that overwhelm even the most diligent of dieters?
Is it seeing a small child’s beaming face while he/she opens a special gift? Is it the worship service that recalls just how this holiday came to be? And what it still is?
We could wax ad infinitum, but rather than do that, we thought it better to ask: what is the most important thing about Christmas to you?
Email us at mainlinebanter@verizon.net prior to Dec. 22. A panel of judges, including yours truly, will award a prize to the person we believe best describes his/her favorite thing (in 50 words or less, of course.)
We will publish the winning entry in an after-Christmas Banter and award a “secret Santa” surprise.
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Nobody asked, but if you’re looking to enjoy a couple of hours of enchanting theatrical fun, consider seeing People’s Light, Malvern, adaptation of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” now playing through Dec. 31 on its Leonard Haas Stage (More about this innovative production in next week’s Banter) and Berwyn’s Footlighters Theater production of “Once Upon a Mattress” during its December run (8th to 17th) on its Main Avenue stage.
(This was the 1959 Broadway show (adapted from Andersen’s fable “Princess and the Pea,” that launched the career of Carol Burnett)
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Nobody asked, but if you believe that words in the English language are strange, you’ve come to the right homophone.
Here are a dozen examples:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
4) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
5) I did not object to the object.
6) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
7) Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
8) They were too close to the door to close it
9) There was a row among the crew members about how to row the boat.
10) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
11) He did not object to the object, and
12) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
Nuf said?
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Nobody asked, but the recent reports of wallet thefts in stores throughout the Main Line bring to mind some great advice by a corporate attorney years ago.
He said that one should take all the contents, excepting cash, out of the wallet and photocopy both sides of one’s driver’s license, social security card, credit, and charge cards, medical cards, and any other form of personal ID, and keep the copies in a safe place.
If a wallet or a purse with these cards is stolen, one still has instant access to all of this critical information.
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Finally, nobody asked, but Erma Bombeck may have calculated the best mathematical equation about Thanksgiving dinners when she wrote:
“They take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in about 15 minutes. Half-times take about 15 minutes. This is not a coincidence.”
The Last Word: Good day, good luck, and good news tomorrow.
Comments invited to mainlinebanter@verizon.net.
