12 days of Christmas

Is that the title of that partridge in a pear tree song? I’m not really that into Christmas. I’m more inclined to celebrate the Solstice. In this regard I appreciate the following passage from Gary Snyder’s book Back on the Fire (p.73-74):

“One of my neopagan friends, an ethnobotanist and prehistorian, complains about how the Christians have callously appropriated his sacred solstice ceremonies. ‘Our fir tree of lights and gifts,’ he says, ‘has been swept into an orgy of consumerism, no longer remembered as a sign of the return of the sun,’ and, ‘People have totally forgotten that the gifts brought from the north by Santa Claus are spiritual, not material; and his red clothes, white trim, round body, and northern habitat show that he represents the incredibly psychoactive mushroom Amanita muscaria.’” !

Oh, snap!, Jesus must be saying.

However, I noticed before this morning's run that there are twelve days left in 2007. Not exactly the same thing as the twelve days of Christmas, but close enough for my mind to get that song stuck in my head during my run. Now, I don’t know the words to that song very well, except for its repetitive “on the somethingth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, lalalalalala…” Right? So, anyway, it was the perfect mindless repetition/chant/mantra for my run today. My mind was stuck in that Christmas song for over an hour and my soul and body were set free to roam about the earth. So, I guess Christmas has its value (at least in its songs) after all.