his and hers (and the things they celebrate)

i made us stockings! a plaid wool one for jeremy with an evergreen tree stitched on the front and a caramel linen one for me with vintage lace hearts, each one sewn on by hand. in between the stitching i got to thinking about the holiday season and why we celebrate.



deeply spiritual and affected am i but religious i am not, so how can i (in good faith) participate in the goods of a season, (food! food! drink! PRESENTS!) without recognizing and ascribing to its original purpose? and can i be moved by a christmas carol, tied so deeply to my christmas memory bank, without feeling hypocritical. without wondering if it's okay to sing about baby jesus if you think he just grew up to be a really nice guy with a great falsetto in the musical.

i like giving presents. i like eating shortbread cookies shaped like angels and i like waking up on december 25th and feeling like for that one day, the world is in a state of suspended animation.


maybe belief, (or disbelief as the case may be) is suspended animation. a question unanswered. maybe asking yourself these questions while you're making stockings, soon to be filled with well planned presents, is the point of anything done en masse. WHY do we do the things we do. WHY are they important. are they relevant. are they helpful or harmful. are they real or prescribed.

i look at our empty stockings and they have no answers for me. but boy are they cute and well made.