The wonders of Christmas

So its that time of the year again, when all sense and sensibility and caution is thrown to the wind. When all decency, decorum and diplomacy is thrown out of the window and is replaced with carousing, bingeing and uncontrolled consumption all because 2,012 years ago a baby called Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. 

I will not pretend that I am well versed in the biblical story of the virgin birth for I am what one may call a believing but not a practicing Christian one of those who prefers to nurse a stubborn hangover on a Sunday morning borne out of an irresponsible and probably intentional late night out then go to church to cleanse my sins of the week. I do believe however in a supreme and all powerful being looking out for me and I do say a prayer and call for divine intervention every now and then!

However Christmas Day is a must go church day for me, if on no other day of the year, borne out of many years of indoctrination from god fearing parents who drummed it in us that while going to church on Sunday was not optional, on Christmas Day it was compulsory............if that oxymoron makes sense!!

Let me explain myself. In a Catholic family back in the day, the doctrine from the church was that good Catholic boys and girls went through the cycle of baptism, holy communion and confession while still in their formative years. This involved a continuous cycle of church attendance including some Saturdays for catechism and all Sundays to attend mass. The fear of going to hell in the hereafter was enough motivation then to ensure a flawless 100% record of attending mass every Sunday. It was expected that you would be so indoctrinated by all these important milestones in the Catholic faith that you would forever be sucked into the cycle of Sunday church attendance without fail until your dying day. 

What this meant to my parents is that so long as you lived in their house, you had to go to church every Sunday morning even if you had got home in the wee hours of the morning as so many teenagers past the age of 18 years were wont to do. So there you were at mass on Sunday morning, bleary eyed from lack of sleep no doubt reeking of the last few hurriedly consumed drinks to the discomfort of the rest of the congregation and with a bongo band playing an uneven and unsolicited concerto in your head and all the while trying to stay focused on the goings on in church. 

Need I say more! The first opportunity that I got to avoid going to church every Sunday morning could not present itself soon enough and the minute I moved out of my parents home was the time that I decided to have a choice in whether I attended mass every Sunday or not a decision that leaned towards rebellion and the risk of eternal damnation and that flew in the face of all that had been drummed into me in my days of compulsory Sunday mass attendance.

And that is why wonders never cease because, Christmas Day church attendance is a must for me so that I seek forgiveness for my many sins and transgressions of the past year and be at peace with my creator. The wonders of Christmas never cease to amaze because mine is probably a story told and retold many times across the world of those who make it a point of going to church on Christmas Day if on no other day of the year!!