Christmas as part of your daily routine

At 5:30am, as I cycled off to teach my 7:00am yoga class, I thought . . . “when does the world give?” And immediately, I thought …. Christmas.

1. Christmas
“A celebration of humanity dating back thousands of years. It originated as a pagan celebration of the birth of the Sun, as it was celebrated on the winter equinox, and after that point, days got longer. When the Catholics/ Christians took over these pagan peoples, they replaced their holiday with their own Birth of the Son, (as in of God) to make the transition to Christianity’s traditions easier. The idea of Santa Claus and his reindeer was created in the 1800s, and is loosely based on St. Nicholas, who gave random presents to people. The idea of a christmas tree dates back to German celebrations of Christmas thousands of years ago. They used an evergreen tree to symbolize life and hope in dark times, and hung apples on it. In modern times, it has again lost its religious meaning and is now used as a time of secular “joy.” People spend the time with their family or friends and exchange gifts, a tradition from the Birth of Jesus.

2. Christmas
“A holiday that originally was supposed to be for the birth of Christ, but after all these years, its just nothing but commercials, sales, and stress. What does a fat guy who hauls gifts down into your lifing room, and then flies away on a sleigh have to do with Jesus Christ? Jack squat.”

3.Christmas
“A heart touching season where gift giving is promoted, and Santa Claus is every youth’s hero. Other Christmas icons include: reindeer, snowmen, elves, presents, pine trees, ornaments, tinsel, holy, yule logs, sleighs, mistletoe, carols, noel, angels, golden rings, calling birds, french hens, turtledoves, birds in fruit-bearing trees.”

Regardless of one’s thoughts on Christmas. Christmas is a day of “gift giving”….Yet, does that mean that we should only partake in “gift giving” on Christmas? No .. Instead, I would like to propose that we incorporate the act of “gift giving” as part of one’s daily routine.

So today, walk the streets as if it’s Xmas. And, do something for someone ….

1. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee
2. Pump the gas for the person in front of you
3. Call your mother and tell her thank you,
4. Instead of going out to dinner, donate the funds to charity . . .
5. Go clean your neightbor’s kitchen ….
7. Give the babysitter “the day off paid.”
8. Ask your mailman his name.

Think about it!

tony eason, iyengar yoga teacher, san francisco

A letter to Oprah Winfrey & The Oprah Winfrey Show