Banjo's World

Howdy readers, as some of you may had noticed… I haven’t been on the list at Deafread.com this month. Though it’s unlikely this will make the Deafread list, as it’s not deaf-related. Instead, it’s about Christmas. This is the month of celebrating Christmas. It’s my favourite holiday of the year, definitely not a stressful time for me like it is for some families. Not trying to make excuses, but December is often my busiest month of the year due to the Christmas shopping, Christmas parties and more. I have quite a large family; at least it is according to today’s standards.

For children, it’s like a magical time. With Santa Claus being such a mythical character, many people may see it as lying to the children. It’s not really lying; it’s a way of giving a child hope and faith. Santa Claus once did exist, that was hundreds of years ago. The churches know him as ‘Saint Nicholas’. He didn’t have a sleigh and eight reindeers. Instead, he rode on a donkey and gave gifts to the poor. Therefore, that’s where the mythical character, Santa Claus originated. Often, I see children’s hope and faith vanishes once the discovery that Santa Claus isn’t real; which is not good. You see, I know Santa Claus doesn’t exist as a person in today’s world. However, I do believe that his spirit lives on for eternality. Only these people who has hope and faith in Christmas will feel the spirit. It’s kind of a pity that many of children quickly lose their sentiments for Christmas after the discovery. My parents love and celebrate Christmas, so do my family. My parents were responsible for instilling the Christmas spirit into us even after our shocking truth about the existence of Santa Claus.

Though Christmas is also a celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, everybody knows this and we celebrate it every year. The name of this celebration, ‘Christ-mas’ should be pretty obvious, don’t you think so? What I find to be quite disturbing is how there’s so much politics surrounding the celebration. Recently, I made an observation and came to a conclusion. The people responsible for generating the politics surrounding Christmas are from the far right-winged Christian organizations. These people are making mountains out of molehills. What these people don’t understand is that these stores don’t define the meaning of Christmas. Buying gifts for each other for Christmas is a tradition, not a rule. The true meaning of Christmas is love, joy, peace and goodwill toward people.

Why do we have to make a big deal out of some stores who decides to use the word, “Holiday” instead of “Christmas” in their advertisements? In the end, all these people want are your money. They don’t give a hoot about if you celebrate Christmas or not, they just want your hard-earned cash. Even if they are using the word, "Christmas”… it’s still all about making money.

I believe the reason why a large number of Americans are finding it difficult to deal with the changes in their country is because it has became quite more diverse the last few decades. The old’ fashioned Christian, Caucasian Americans once were the majority, now that has changed. The minorities are now the majority. It’s quite clear that the Christians don’t hold as much power in the White House and the Congress like they used to. Heck, they just voted the first Muslim into office as a congressman. That’s a strong sign that America is becoming diverse despite the resistance. Wanting the world to stay the same forever is not going to happen and you know it. In fact, changes are often what keep the world going.

You could say the same thing about the deaf community; there are so many different types within the community. In fact, I would say there are several minorities within the minority. For instance, people fluent in ASL (American Sign Language) are a minority within the minority. So I’m a part of a minority within a minority. Kind of make you think about how complicated the minorities are, doesn’t it? The African-Americans and the deaf/Deaf are some of the most complex minorities around in North America. Once you read more of the history on both minorities, you may come to an understanding why I said this.

I’m starting to trail off the original subject of Christmas. Back to the subject and coming to a close of this particular blog entry. This will be my last blog entry for the year and I will be back to greet you in the year of 2007. There’s no way to describe my love for Christmas, it’s just something many people experience but cannot describe. It’s something you have to experience to understand. It’s almost like magic. Like I said, the spirit of Saint Nicholas lives on.

All of you have a very Merry Christmas!

… and a Happy New Year!