Time Warp: Ancient Custom
Feb 13, 2014 11:00:08 GMT -5
Post by Dr. Sean Neville on Feb 13, 2014 11:00:08 GMT -5
Based purely on what his boyfriend had just expressed, Sean thought that Josh might benefit from reading a book about the history of Christianity. Not a guide to assorted regional practices, but a historic timeline that explained the origin of the religion from its inception through the present day. That was a matter for another time.
“That isn’t how it works. The Pope makes religious declarations, but culture is culture.” That was why different nationalities had different patron saints.
Looking his boyfriend in the eye, Sean nodded a single time and then began to explain how Christmas worked in the Neville family. “We’d get there in the afternoon to try to avoid traffic, and we’d need to be there by supper. My mother will cook, and, after we eat, we’ll all end up watching It’s a Wonderful Life on one of the network channels in the evening. Then, when it’s time for Midnight Mass, my family and I will walk to the church on the street. You wouldn’t be expected to attend that.”
The telepath wanted to emphasize this for his boyfriend’s sake.
“I want to buy you a stocking so you can hang it with the rest of the family. When we get back from Mass, we put the presents under the tree and then go to bed. If there were any children young enough to believe in Santa, we’d put cookies out, but Kathleen and I are too old for that.”
That brought them through Christmas Eve.
“In the morning, we have coffee and cocoa and then exchange gifts. Stockings first, and then other presents. My parents always have Kathleen and I go first because we’re their children.” Sean smiled at the thought. “Afterward, we have a big breakfast and settle in for the rest of the day. We typically watch other movies or football, and there’s a lot of food. My mother always prepares a big spread for supper on Christmas Day, but we also eat on and off for the rest of it. In the afternoon, our locally-based relatives show up, and there’s another gift exchange before supper.”
“That isn’t how it works. The Pope makes religious declarations, but culture is culture.” That was why different nationalities had different patron saints.
Looking his boyfriend in the eye, Sean nodded a single time and then began to explain how Christmas worked in the Neville family. “We’d get there in the afternoon to try to avoid traffic, and we’d need to be there by supper. My mother will cook, and, after we eat, we’ll all end up watching It’s a Wonderful Life on one of the network channels in the evening. Then, when it’s time for Midnight Mass, my family and I will walk to the church on the street. You wouldn’t be expected to attend that.”
The telepath wanted to emphasize this for his boyfriend’s sake.
“I want to buy you a stocking so you can hang it with the rest of the family. When we get back from Mass, we put the presents under the tree and then go to bed. If there were any children young enough to believe in Santa, we’d put cookies out, but Kathleen and I are too old for that.”
That brought them through Christmas Eve.
“In the morning, we have coffee and cocoa and then exchange gifts. Stockings first, and then other presents. My parents always have Kathleen and I go first because we’re their children.” Sean smiled at the thought. “Afterward, we have a big breakfast and settle in for the rest of the day. We typically watch other movies or football, and there’s a lot of food. My mother always prepares a big spread for supper on Christmas Day, but we also eat on and off for the rest of it. In the afternoon, our locally-based relatives show up, and there’s another gift exchange before supper.”
