Monday, November 22, 2010

I Really Like Christmas...

...It’s sentimental, I know, but I still really like it.
There are so many song lyrics one could use to describe the wonderful feeling you get at this time of year. This is my favourite, though. It feels as though this atheist’s song about Christmas in Australia, written as a tribute to his daughter has become an anthem to all those who feel like me - people who love the season, love the sentiment, but do not share a belief in a sentient teapot or any of the rest. It is a really lovely song that describes how wonderful it is to spend the holidays with family as well as all of the great things about the season.
With such a lovely message emphasising the importance of family, you would think that it would be accepted in the mainstream, that in a society that has such a dynamic mosaic of religions, it would be at least tolerated, if not appreciated for still promoting a positive message. Maybe, even some really hyper tolerant, understand, and accepting Christians would applaud Tim Minchin for seeing past his distaste for religion and donating such a popular song to the Salvation Army’s Christmas album. Apparently this view is just far too optimistic. Instead of understanding and caring in the name and spirit of Christmas, Christians in Australia are attacking the charity’s album, berating Minchin, and condemning the mighty powers that be for putting such a vile, and disrespectful song that is so out of line with the true spirit of Christmas.
To these few, it would seem that the message of the song does not actually matter. No, the fact that it has lyrics such as “I’m not expecting a visit from Jesus” or “I don’t go in for ancient wisdom, I don’t believe that just cos ideas are tenacious it means that they’re worthy.” Et cetera, means that it is un Christmas. Only because it is un Christian. I’m sorry, but exactly how Christian has the holiday been in the past decade? It is a season for family, gift-giving, and drinking in today’s politically correct and sensitive society.
To me, this is mortifyingly closed minded, bigoted, and irresponsible. Christmas is supposed to be a time of charity, love, warmth, and tolerance. Instead, apparently, it has become more important to promote Jesus and Christianity at the cost of the traits that make this holiday worth celebrating. How you can listen to this song and say that is in any capacity anti-Christmas is beyond me.


If you agree that this is a beautiful song for the Christmas spirit, and that the partisan attack on it is disgustingly vile, Tim Minchin has responded to this attack very appropriately. His original version of White Wine in the Sun, as shown above, is available for purchase on iTunes. From now until January 1, 2011 100% of the profits from purchasing the song will go toward a secular charity. It might not be much, but even this small display can show the true meaning of the Christmas spirit.
http://tinyurl.com/whitewine


(If you want to read the article that sparked this rant, you can find it here:  )
Edit:
If you were hesitant to buy the song to help an unnamed charity, fear no more! The proceeds will go to the National Autistic Society