The tree at Rockefeller Center. The windows at Lord & Taylor. The Christmas markets in Grand Central and Union Square and Bryant Park. These and a hundred other holiday installations are the usual seasonal manifestations that blossom all over the city. And that's just in the 212 area code. If you call Boston home, it might be the tree on the Commons. In Chicago you could go to watch the carolers at Cloud Gate. And in Dallas you might gather along Commerce Street for the Holiday Parade, this year marking the 30th outing for the dancing elves.
Change the focus from wide to tight, and you see the same thing on a more granular level. There are holiday displays in stores and shops. In the office buildings uptown and downtown there are huge decorated trees along with collections of toys donated by generous individuals for kids not so fortunate. Add to that a dusting of snow and a snap of cold, and the usual grimy edges of the city turn soft and white like a print by Currier and Ives.
Yet as often as I was in New York City these past few weeks, I had the impression that the holiday was lying low. True, I made it a point to avoid the big tourist draws, like the main floor at Macy's or the skating rink under the tree. But on several multi-hour walks across different parts of town, and in meetings both business and casual, it seemed like people were going through the motions. They were more caught up with the onslaught of news stories about elections and sexual harassment and tax reform, and less with a spirit of hopefulness and good cheer that suffuses all at this time of year.
It was that way on a personal level as well. True, it has been several years since we have had little kids in our orbit, either close or extended, and so the wild-eyed wonder of the whole Santa thing was absent. For various reasons, we set up our Christmas tree in another room where it seems we don't go as much, and so on some nights we have even forgotten to turn on the lights. And while we have certainly had the chance to catch up with friends and family, it seems the talk is less about the spirit of the holiday and more about the difficulties of the world.
It was summed up by a Nativity display I passed in an office building. A beautiful Christmas tree was accompanied by a large creche. Gathered together were Wise Men and Mary and Joseph, along with an assortment of animals and villagers. They were all clustered around, gazing adoringly at the center of the circle. But whether because of religious sensitivities or fear of theft or just because someone lost it in the storeroom where it was crammed between the Halloween and Easter decorations, the focal point was empty. Rather than staring at a baby Jesus, the figures were admiring an empty floor. In the world at large, as in that display, something appears to be missing.
Regardless of your religion and what you observe, this time of year has always been about a spirit of hopefulness and possibility. To be sure, it is a holiday because of what it commemorates, the birth of Christ, and not because of a sale at Saks. A recent survey found that more than half of the country celebrates it as a religious observance. But the rest don't ignore it, as if it were some festival recognized only by true believers. It is celebrated as a cultural holiday, with its themes of new beginnings, possibility and the joy of being together. But this year? It seems presumptuous for me, a non-Christian, to lament the diminishment of the holiday, but it feels that way.
Mind you, I'm not saying there's no recognition of that Christmas feeling, be it religious or secular. It's rather that the real world seems to have put its thumb on the scale. People aren't afraid to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays," but there are so many distractions that are competing for attention, and sadly winning. Put another way, regardless of your political persuasion, it would have been more in keeping with the spirit of the holiday to look under the tree and find socks versus a reduction in the corporate tax rate.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford is hoping for a quiet holiday. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Change the focus from wide to tight, and you see the same thing on a more granular level. There are holiday displays in stores and shops. In the office buildings uptown and downtown there are huge decorated trees along with collections of toys donated by generous individuals for kids not so fortunate. Add to that a dusting of snow and a snap of cold, and the usual grimy edges of the city turn soft and white like a print by Currier and Ives.
Yet as often as I was in New York City these past few weeks, I had the impression that the holiday was lying low. True, I made it a point to avoid the big tourist draws, like the main floor at Macy's or the skating rink under the tree. But on several multi-hour walks across different parts of town, and in meetings both business and casual, it seemed like people were going through the motions. They were more caught up with the onslaught of news stories about elections and sexual harassment and tax reform, and less with a spirit of hopefulness and good cheer that suffuses all at this time of year.
It was that way on a personal level as well. True, it has been several years since we have had little kids in our orbit, either close or extended, and so the wild-eyed wonder of the whole Santa thing was absent. For various reasons, we set up our Christmas tree in another room where it seems we don't go as much, and so on some nights we have even forgotten to turn on the lights. And while we have certainly had the chance to catch up with friends and family, it seems the talk is less about the spirit of the holiday and more about the difficulties of the world.
It was summed up by a Nativity display I passed in an office building. A beautiful Christmas tree was accompanied by a large creche. Gathered together were Wise Men and Mary and Joseph, along with an assortment of animals and villagers. They were all clustered around, gazing adoringly at the center of the circle. But whether because of religious sensitivities or fear of theft or just because someone lost it in the storeroom where it was crammed between the Halloween and Easter decorations, the focal point was empty. Rather than staring at a baby Jesus, the figures were admiring an empty floor. In the world at large, as in that display, something appears to be missing.
Regardless of your religion and what you observe, this time of year has always been about a spirit of hopefulness and possibility. To be sure, it is a holiday because of what it commemorates, the birth of Christ, and not because of a sale at Saks. A recent survey found that more than half of the country celebrates it as a religious observance. But the rest don't ignore it, as if it were some festival recognized only by true believers. It is celebrated as a cultural holiday, with its themes of new beginnings, possibility and the joy of being together. But this year? It seems presumptuous for me, a non-Christian, to lament the diminishment of the holiday, but it feels that way.
Mind you, I'm not saying there's no recognition of that Christmas feeling, be it religious or secular. It's rather that the real world seems to have put its thumb on the scale. People aren't afraid to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays," but there are so many distractions that are competing for attention, and sadly winning. Put another way, regardless of your political persuasion, it would have been more in keeping with the spirit of the holiday to look under the tree and find socks versus a reduction in the corporate tax rate.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford is hoping for a quiet holiday. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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