Christmas Birthdays Forgotten in the Mix
People born on Dec. 25 are overshadowed by the holiday
Last year’s cause célèbre was the name-changing of the towering spruce in front of 30 Rock to “The Tree.” This year, the title’s been restored to the “Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.”
With at least that War On Christmas battle behind us, I would like to take up a new banner: sensitivity to the segment of our population who are always overshadowed by the holiday festivities because they share their birthday with Christ. Read more
The Real Central Park Santa Claus
By Laura Shin
The man in the Santa suit greeting families in Central Park is an 82-year-old photographer from the Upper East Side, but he is no fraud. Everything from Ed Bobrow’s snow-white beard to his warm personality is real. Read more
Christmas, Continued
To the Editor:
Although it would be easy to think of Malachy McCourt’s belated rant on Christmas (“’Tis Not the Season,” Jan. 21) as mean-spirited, he is actually mostly correct.
He says, “The so-called Christians… converted the feast of the sun god into a celebration of the birth of Jesus…” Actually, “Christmas” was created in the third century when Constantine (who ironically had become a Christian by then) refused to allow the celebration of Jesus’ birth as a separate holiday, but instead required it to be “subsumed” into the late-year pagan celebration of Saturnalia, which celebrated Saturn, the god of agriculture and the harvest (not the sun). N.B. There is an alternative claim that the Christians wanted their celebration to coincide with Saturnalia, but this is less likely. Read more
’Tis Not the Season
Just when you thought you were done with Christmas, here I come with more stuff on it. As we know, it’s a season fraught with anxiety, depression, anger and domestic disharmony, all despite the injunctions of various clergy that it is the season of peace, tranquility and the sharing of joy and of song. The so-called Christians have had a monopoly on the whole shebang since they converted the feast of the sun god into a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Esq.
Prior to that event, the Romans celebrated the festival Saturnalia, a time of big feasts, bellowing bawdy ballads, gift giving and decking ye olde halls with holly, ivy and other green foliages. The idea being that evergreens are symbols of life and fertility and that they would keep out the winter’s dark demons of despair and depression. Read more
A Blue Christmas?
Psychoanalyst Dr. Robert Schwalbe knows that when the Christmas carols start playing, the phone starts ringing.
The doctor, who specializes in treating men at his Upper East Side practice, said that much like a retailer, the holidays have become his busiest season.
“My practice booms at this time of year,” he said, estimating that he typically sees a 25 percent spike peaking in January. And that’s on top of the 50 percent increase he’s already noticed since the economic crisis began. Read more
GIFT GUIDE!: 12 DAYS OF SHOPPING
What will your true love say you gave him or her this holiday?
Calling birds, French hens, turtle doves? Stop it. And has anyone ever really needed a partridge in a pear tree?
With 12 days of Christmas and eight nights of Hanukkah but not a lot of days left to shop, here are some ideas you may not have thought of, from some Upper East Side stores you may not usually patronize.
1. I’m a hat girl myself, and if you’re buying for one who, like me, wants to look chic as she braves the cold, check out Inca’s dazzling metallic newsboy cap. With all the shimmer of golden eggs from six geese, the muted gold (or pewter) caps are 100 percent cotton on the outside, but lined with toasty warm felt. Read more
TRIMMING THE TREE
James Richards and Antonio Ortiz wrap the top part of the Bryant Park Christmas Tree in preparation for the upcoming holidays. Photo By: Andrew Schwartz
