Are Holidays Really Holidays Anymore?

The older I get the less excited I get about certain things. Take holidays, for instance. Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I had a nice meal with my family and we generally had a good day. Still, it didn't feel like we really got into the spirit of the holiday and focused on what we were thankful for. We had a brief mention of it at the table, but in general it seemed like it was just a day to take off work and have some turkey.

The word "holiday" comes from "holy day." The purpose of holy days being set aside is to give us the opportunity to focus our minds on something bigger than day-to-day life. We're supposed to remember things like the sacrifices made by people before us or the love God has shown to humanity. We're supposed to reflect on the fact that our lives are all shaped by things beyond what we can see and when we return to the mundane we should have a renewed sense of perspective.

Sadly, I know that isn't the case for me enough. Like so many others, I think more about the rituals surrounding the holidays and forget about their true meaning. What if we took away the turkey, the football and the huge family get-togethers at Thanksgiving and just discussed with some close loved ones what we were thankful for? Wouldn't that be more likely to help us achieve that renewed sense of perspective? Wouldn't it eliminate the stress and help us accomplish what we intended with the whole setting aside a day thing?

Christmas is the next big holiday approaching. I already suggested the idea of no one exchanging gifts this year to my mother, and she didn't seem totally opposed to the idea. Still, we'll probably end up getting caught up in the stress of putting up decorations, buying gifts and wishing our loved ones a Merry Christmas that we'll lose focus on the true meaning just like we always do. Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas to me anymore. It feels like a ritual. If I'm not focusing on my Savior's birth, is there even any point to me celebrating Christmas? It's not as if the Bible tells us we have to celebrate Christmas. We just do it because it was a tradition started by the church. If we can focus on Jesus and gain a renewed sense of perspective at Christmas time, that's good. If we're only observing it because it's a fun tradition though, is that truly pleasing to God?

Holidays can be fun. Some of my best memories are from holidays. I just think more people (myself included) need to remember that they aren't just designated celebration days. They have a purpose. Keeping those purposes in mind would be for the better in all our lives.

What's the Deal With Piercings?

One fad I don't understand is getting pierced. From what I hear it's painful to get pierced, which I probably would've guessed had I not been told. The part that makes it really ridiculous to me though, is that piercings are ugly. Getting a piercing is the equivalent of saying "I'm making a conscious decision to look worse."

There's this semi-famous girl who I find to be pretty attractive. I recently saw a picture of her with a huge stud in her nose and she suddenly seemed a lot less attractive to me. Why do girls think nose piercings are "cute" or good-looking in any way? They're not. It seems like every other girl has her navel pierced these days too. I don't understand the point of that either. If you wear clothes that reveal your navel you don't look very respectable, and it serves no purpose but to get in the way if no one can see it. Eyebrow, tongue and lip piercings are equally useless. I look at people with these things and try to figure out what made them want to get them. My best guess is that they reached a certain age and decided "If I punch holes in my body that'll prove I'm my own person!" When you break it down getting pierced is a pretty vacuous activity.

As an American I grew up seeing women with pierced earlobes as acceptable. While I don't particularly like pierced ears, it's the only type of piercing that doesn't turn me off due to my being exposed to it at an early age. Anything else though, is just unnecessary and unpleasant to look at.

All I can say is that I hope piercing will go out of vogue someday. This fascination with affixing metal to one's anatomy is rather disturbing.

Move over Andy Rooney. You've got company.

When Did I Become a TV Addict?

Back when I was in college I rarely watched TV. It meant going downstairs to the main lobby and dealing with the rowdies who lived in the dorm. I didn't enjoy that much, so I usually spent my time in my room on the internet.

It's funny how I used to talk bad about reality television and said that it was a stupid fad that would go out of style before too long. Now that I'm out of school reality TV has made me its slave. I now understand why some people get so obsessed with these shows. You find yourself invested in the outcome because the shows involve real people and you care about the ones you like. I find myself not being able to miss "Beauty and the Geek", "The Next Great American Band", and "Dancing With the Stars". Other shows like "Jeopardy!", "Don't Forget the Lyrics!" and "American Idol Rewind" have also sucked me in. Once some of these shows end Season 7 of "American Idol" is going to start. If you told me a year ago that I'd be another "Idol" addict I wouldn't have believed you. Now I not only follow the American version, but the Canadian version and to some extent the Australian one. I also watch a lot of sports. What's happening to me? I'm spending way too much time in front of the tube.

I suppose reality TV gives us a way to live vicariously through others and to enjoy the excitement of competition at the same time. It's really not that different from watching sports if you think about it. Still, sports seems more respectable. Perhaps I'm too far into this current crop of shows so I might as well finish out the season.

By the way, vote for Très Bien! on "The Next Great American Band"!