Christmas Stamp Confusion

I don't use snail mail very often these days, but there are still things I do which require the aid of the United States Postal Service. Whenever I need stamps during the Christmas Season, I make it a point to buy the ones with Mary and the baby Jesus on them. He is the reason for the season, right?

While at the counter of the local post office the other day, I asked for this year's Madonna stamps. You know, Madonna and Child, Jesus and Mary. 

The clerk looked at me quizzically. "I don't think we have Madonna stamps. She's not dead yet."

Looking back at her quizzically myself I'm sure, she responded to my unspoken question, "Madonna. The singer."

"No, no," I answered. "Madonna and child. Mary and the baby Jesus."

A look of absolute horror jumped onto the young woman's face. "Oh, no! I've said something really bad!" she responded, covering her mouth in sheer terror.

"Oh, I don't think so. It's an honest mistake," I assured her.

I was able to buy the right stamps. And I'm not sure you have to have passed on to be on a postage stamp either. Still, I hope she doesn't feel too bad about it, because I don't doubt her confusion was honest enough.

Normalcy

Today is the 2nd of January. We're back to normal. Oh, there's still some decorations up. There's a fair amount of Christmas food and snacks hanging around the larder. I bought another fruitcake, so I'll have fruitcake until, oh, next Christmas, the way it lasts. It's the Spam of the holiday table, right?

All that said, I think that we may have the Christmas season backwards. The Polish observe Christmas through February 2nd, which is in the Church calendar Candlemas, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Take that, Groundhog Day.

The Polish are onto something. Before Christmas is just that: before Christmas. It hasn't come yet. We're singing carols and getting gifts wrapped and having parties and family get togethers before the actual reason for the season has occurred. We really ought to be doing those things after December 25, oughtn't we?

Ah well. Things feel like normal now, and that's okay. It's high time I tried normal anyway.

Tis the Season

I like Christmas. I really do. But I am one of the grumpy ones who could stand to see it back off a little.

Christmas commercials are already inundating the world. Buy! Buy! Buy! You need New Wonderful Thing! You can't live without it!

I bet you can.

The decorations are nice, and I do like seeing them. I'm still old school enough to look forward to Midnight Mass. Indeed, Midnight Mass and the quiet half hour I'll spend watching A Charlie Brown Christmas would do me fine, to be honest. Turning on the radio or listening to a CD of traditional Christmas music is quite enjoyable. I find the greatest happiness is in the small, sublime aspects of life. The commercialism I can certainly do without.

So on the whole I'll be happy enough. I'll likely even watch one Hallmark movie: flashy three piece suit city guy ought to lose the girl to red flannel shirt small town bumpkin. I do take far too much delight in that.