A Christmas Card

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There is this news story going around here about some screwball that put Santa Claus on a crucifix claiming ?He died for your Master Card.? I suppose there is something darkly amusing about this, and there are always bits and pieces of nonsense we must endure at every Christmas season including, but not limited to people claiming offense at the sight of a cr?che while doubtless defending the local pornographer?s right to freedom of expression. Christmas is supposed to be spiritual, yes, but we can be spiritual without being ascetic. According to the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, Christmas is a feast day, i.e. a day of great joy, and I like to think, a day of gratitude.

Americans celebrate their Thanksgiving only a few short weeks before Christmas, so the thanksgiving part of Christmas gets a bit lost in the expression of sentiment, but not in the activities of the season. I remember my father once being put off by a homily given by the local parish priest at Christmas time deploring ?all the needless eating, drinking, and spending.?

?I will not feel guilty,? the old man said, ?for sharing what I?ve earned with my friends and family.?

I think that is a much better attitude. It?s also the attitude that is dominates the efforts of all the members of Skyscript, which brings me to one of my favorite characters, Samuel Johnson. Johnson is wildly under-appreciated today except by a handful of people who are fortunate enough to be exposed to him. His most famous work was a dictionary, not the kind of thing that stirs the soul unless we really give some thought to just how difficult a task that is. He was, among other things, a critic, and is probably thought of, not entirely inaccurately, as an 18th century curmudgeon who said some memorable things. He was so much more. As much as I admire him, though, I found a quote that I cannot agree with:

?No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money.?

In Johnson?s day, money wasn?t easy to come by, and in order to survive as a man of letters, one had to have patrons. Johnson?s personality was not an endearing one, so patronage could be hard to come by at times. He is still wrong, but he never experienced the internet.

The vast majority of us do not receive a dime for our writing, and we don?t care. If that makes us blockheads, so be it. And if it is true that all those writing gratis are blockheads, then, at Christmas particularly I am grateful for it. So many talented, knowledgeable people give so much to the forum and the articles that any day can be Christmas at Skyscript. There are instructions, biographies, interviews, book reviews, history, lore, and of course opinion to keep every astrologer busy for hours, if he or she so chooses. The level of discourse on this site is far and away as high as or higher than any of the thousands of other astrological sites that can be found on the web. We receive so much.

I am a daily recipient of this generosity and for that I wish to thank everyone, owner, moderators, and contributors for your efforts, for the gifts of your labor and sharing of knowledge, and for your participation for making this such a wonderful place. May God bless all of you and your families.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year to you all.

Tom


Last edited by Tom on Mon Dec 24, 2007 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Tom, what a marvelous statement. So often, I reflect on the fact that Skyscript, in and of itself, offers to the dedicated student the equivalent of a college education in astrology, philosophy, history and astronomy -- including postgraduate work. I am humbly grateful. And thank you so much for expressing these thoughts in such a powerful, comprehensive way. Happy holidays to all from me, as well.