It is the Christmas time yet again. Spent a lovely half an hour this morning trying to locate who/why prefers "merry" over "happy" christmas. Fun it was, though 'merry' pronunciation wise is much closer to 'Mary', and Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" has already established the centrality of "Mary" , of the Magdalene identity, too, in Christ's life.
That set me thinking about the real meaning of the cross, of Christmas. Surely, it is not the ceremony, though the festivities, beginning with the carol-singing, are fun, especially if the diocese is Catholic. Beyond such razzmatazz, however, Christianity is the rejection of the powers that be, of the 'norm'ative, and instead the re-instituting of the alternative, and of the accommodative way of living.
Look at his birth itself! His supposed father is a carpenter. He is born to a virgin mother, that, too, in the cowshed. Yet the magi have to follow the star to reach him. His apostles, and followers, are the societal lowly, too. Why, he is the first one to think of the child as an interesting metaphor! The end is thus the beginning! In brief, christmas is merry because of such prioritizing of the alterities!
pratima@the other is the center/the center shifts to the non-foci/Christ is thus the I/of those who the discourse re-enter!
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