Bah Humbag: Slowing Down Christmas
by Matt Caulfield on December 8, 2009
in Idle Pursuits, Practical Idling, Slow Events
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Well, it is December and I have lifted my self imposed Christmas embargo. I refuse to even think about Christmas until now, no matter how much adverts and Tesco try and make me (I am sat here watching Love Actually. It is the one film that cannot fail to make me feel Christmassy!).
I don’t like Christmas. Well, that is not strictly true. I don’t like what Christmas has become. It seems to have become this secular celebration of consumerism.
All people care about is what presents to get, what presents they will receive, what food they need to buy (and, boy, do they buy! It is only 2 days, yet people seem to shop like they will never be allowed to buy food again), it is all spend, spend, spend…
Go and walk around your local high street now and you won’t see much the “season to be jolly” (or much “good will to all (wo)men” for that matter), all you will see is crowds (and crowds, and crowds…) of stressed and angry shoppers shuffling around.
It is ridiculous, and about as far removed from the original meaning of Christmas as we can get…
What is Christmas? Really?
What are the ancient roots of Christmas and the festivities that surround it?
Well, I am sure you are all aware of the song “12 Days of Christmas’”…
“Fiiiiiiiiiiivvvveeeee Gooooooolllllldddd Riiiiiinnnnggssss….” And all that.
That was because Christmas would last 12 whole days! It would start on the 25th December and finish on the 6th January (12th Night). Originally Christmas Day was celebrated on January 6th, when presents were given in honour of Saint Nicholas (the forefather of Father Christmas).
It was a time of merriment, feasting and general festivity (but still a holy day, with 3 masses on 25th December to start the ball rolling), with plays, processions and merry-making. It was not the family orientated affair we know today, but a celebration that involved the whole community.
Christmas (or Yule, or Christmastide, or the festival of Epiphany, or the Winter Solstice!) was a time of revelry, of community spirit, of celebration and feasting that lasted days (some sources say they started in November!), ending on 12th Night, or the Feast of Epiphany on the 6th January. It combined pre-Christian traditions and Christian elements to give thanks and distract ourselves from the cold, dark winters…
The Christmas We Know Today
The Christmas we know today (with the 2 days – Christmas Day and Boxing Day) was really an invention of those lovers of speed; the Victorians, to reduce the festive period into a manageable 2-day holiday so we could all get back to work as soon as possible (this was in the midst of the Industrial revolution).
However the rot set in a long time before those harebrained Victorians got their mitts on Christmas, around the time of Reformation, when Martin Luther created the Protestant Church (and the gave name to the dreaded “Protestant Work Ethic”) and started to cull the Pre-Reformation holidays and festivals as they deemed them “hedonistic” and “superstitious” (Christmas was even BANNED in Britain in 1647).
The blueprint for the modern Christmas celebrations was laid down in Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” (thanks Charley), with the idea of the one-day of feasting and celebration (Boxing day wasn’t traditionally classed as holiday unitl 1871, when the Bank Holidays Act in the UK was designated a Bank Holiday). It is suggested that Dickens (being a popular author of the time) was unofficially employed to do a bit of PR job on the new, shorter Christmas celebrations, as the workers were somewhat reticent of giving up their festivities (and who can blame them?).
Because of the truncated nature of the celebration and the fact that people were moving into the cities and away from the traditional village community, the onus moved away from the community as whole and focused much more just on the family (remember, most families all lived under one roof back then…).
When you describe Christmas like that, and discover the modern celebrations cynical roots, can you see why I am not a huge fan?!
How Can You Slow Down Christmas?
“We’re all dreaming of a pre-Reformation Christmas, when the festival really did last twelve days and during which time work and trade were forbidden, and instead we all danced, sang, ate, drank and generally made extremely merry. The sour-faced Parliamentarians of the Cromwell state actually tried to ban Christmas altogether, considering it Popish, old-fashioned and far too much fun. Luckily Charles II brought it back in 1660 and the medieval spirit of Christmas has survived.” - Tom Hodgkinson
The fact is, we are going to celebrate Christmas aren’t we? And why shouldn’t we?! I am not against Christmas as festival, I am just not too comfortable with it as the modern celebration of consumerism and speed that it has become.
Christmas should be a little bit of a revolt against the increasing pressure and stress of work and the consumer society and, in my humble opinion, the old Pre-Reformation celebrations were a much “Slower” than our current ones.
The idea here is to introduce (or re-introduce) some of the Pre-Reformation intentions that you may find will reduce you Christmas stress and turn it back into a time for you to enjoy!
1) Celebrate the full 12 Days!
Try and plan to do something for the full 12 days, rather than rushing to get everything done in the 2 days we have allotted to us. The time between Christmas and New Year is often a bit of an empty space and we are not sure what do to with ourselves. Well by celebrating the full 12 days you can use that time to catch up with friends and family at a more leisurely pace.
There are still some organisations that shut between Christmas and New Year (and good on them!), but if not, you can still do something in that time.
2) Go carol singing (or Wassailing as it was traditionally known)
Ancient carol singing was a bit of a rowdy affair, where people would go from house to house and sing and be offered alcohol by the inhabitants. I am not suggesting you go and harass your neighbours for booze, but a spot of drinking and singing does wonders to lift the spirits!
3) Don’t bow to pressure to do things that are “expected” of you
Christmas is a time for celebration not “duty”, if you don’t enjoy it at the rest of the year, why do it now? Spend it with people you really want to, not people you think you should.
4) Buy gifts that mean something, not that cost the earth
The giving of presents seems to have become the central tenant of the modern Christmas with people stressing and panicking about what to buy people and often going into debt to pay for it. Don’t buy pointless gifts just because you think you should, take some time to consider what that person would really appreciate and it (or make it!) for them. Presents don’t need to be expensive to be good.
5) Don’t go shopping
The internet is a godsend for this. You can do all your Christmas shopping from the comfort of your own sofa without needing to go out and face the hordes (unless fighting your way through crowds of angry shoppers makes you feel Christmassy).
6) The thorny issue of Christmas Cards
Hand written? Electronic? Don’t bother? Every year we seem to have to send cards to more and more people; work colleagues, neighbours (who we often don’t even know the name of), distant relatives we can barely remember. It gets more and more expensive, it is strain on the poor postal service and all that paper is hardly good for the planet (even if it is recycled or from a sustainable source). I like the idea that seems to have sprung up of recent years (at least with people I know), and that is to donate the money you would have spent on cards to charity and then just send a generic email telling everyone that is what you have done. Of course, still send cards to people who are close to you!
7) Give something to the community
Boxing day got its name from giving gifts (or Christmas “boxes” to the poor) and Christmas was traditionally a time for community. So why not give something back? You can do anything you want from giving a donation to a charity (see the suggestion about Christmas cards), to getting more involved in something, it is up to you. Giving something back honours the Christmas spirit and will make you feel surprisingly good!
This is will probably be my last post of 2009. So I wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (and, in fact, the new decade) and I will see you in the 2010.
Matt
PS, If you liked this post, please bookmark it on Digg, Stumbled Upon, Twitter, etc. I would really appreciate it 
The ideal Christmas Present for the Harebrained person:
A Quick (!) Update
by Matt Caulfield on September 15, 2009
in Slow Blogging
Hi,
Sorry for the lack of blogging of late. I have been away on holiday and whilst I was away I have been finding myself mulling over the future of the blog/journal part of this site. I will publish a full entry about this and what I intend to do in the next few days. Please bear with me until then (I am sure you will, this is a Slow Blog afterall!).
Matt
The Lighter Side of Slow
by Matt Caulfield on August 27, 2009
in Practical Idling
I remember hearing the late great Robert Anton Wilson talking about the term “Hilaritas”, which is derived from a Greek word, meaning to “live joyfully” and was supposedly used to describe the gods. You could tell they were a god because the had “Hilaritas”.
Humour is incredibly important to the Slow mindset. Humour has power. If you can laugh at something you remove it’s control over you. It is why satire is considered so potent and we used comical propaganda during WWII.
I remember once, when I was still working as an NLP therapist, talking to a group of other therapists and we were chatting about some of our work that we had done. All of a sudden, one of the more earnest therapists just lashed out and said to me “I think you are disgusting! I can’t believe you treat your clients in such a way, you show no respect to them, making fun of them all the time”. I was a bit taken aback, but then explained calmly and gently that I took my clients 100% seriously and treated them with the utmost respect, but what I never did was take their “problems” seriously. As, taking a problem seriously often makes it worse, and if you can get your clients to truly laugh that their problems that can often be enough to make them go away (the problem, not the client!).
In the Slow movement I often meet quite a few earnest people, who take slowing down very seriously. They are somewhat evangelical and critical of other people who do not conform to their understanding of the world (and their understanding of how we should slow down). A friend and I often refer to them as “lentil knitters” and poke a bit of light hearted fun at them. This attitude isn’t helping at all and is often counter productive as turns people off the Slow Movement. Besides, the Slow Movement has no leaders or structure, it is a collection of people embracing the idea of slowing down and rejecting the ethos of “faster is best”, in all it’s forms, there is (as far as I can tell) no “right” or “wrong” way to do it!
So, in this post I thought I would explore the more humorous (yet still important) side of Slowing Down.
The Idler
I have mentioned the Idler here a few times. It has recently re-invented itself in a more serious guise as a journal of radical thought, but before then it was a tongue in cheek look at the life of loafing. In both its guises I highly recommend it!
The New Escapolosgist
A new periodical in a similar vein to the Idler. Edited by the Glasgow flâneur Robert Wringham, its purpose is to help its readers “flee the humdrum spreadsheet of prescribed reality into an exciting world of one’s own invention.”
The Church of the Latter Day Dude (Dudeism)
Inspired by the antics of Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, in the Coen brother film “The Big Lebowski”, they espose a laidback lifestyle. In it’s own words “Come join the slowest-growing religion in the world – Dudeism. An ancient philosophy that preaches non-preachiness, practices as little as possible, and above all, uh…lost my train of thought there. Anyway, if you’d like to find peace on earth and goodwill, man, we’ll help you get started. Right after a little nap…”
The Church of the Subgenius
The aim of the subgenius is to attain SLACK, the “sense of freedom, independence, and original thinking that comes when you achieve your personal goals.” Although a parody of the major cults and religions, the idea if slack is an excellent one!
Discordianism
Similar to The Church of the Subgenius. The Discordian movement is either a “religion disguised as a joke, or a joke disguised as a religion”. It has no central body as one of the basic tenants is that “us Discordians must stick apart”, but you can learn more at it’s Wikipedia page here. Discordianism reminds us not to take anything too seriously and to just let go.
If anyone has any other lighthearted Slow organisations out there, please let me know.
Matt
If you like this post please bookmark it in StumbledUpon, Digg, Twitter, etc. I would really, really appreciate it 
The Buddha As the First Psychotherapist?
by Matt Caulfield on August 5, 2009
in Mindfulness, Practical Idling
As John Naish so eloquently put in his excellent book “Enough: Breaking Free from the World of More
He even posits that the human race should not be called “homo sapien” (thinking or wise man), but “homo expetens” (wanting man).
However, we have now got to a point where those natural cravings have become a hindrance to our development (both socially and evolutionarily) and we need to get beyond them so that we can continue to develop and evolve…
I have been involved in Buddhism since I was about 19. I was sort of aware of it from an early age, when I took up martial arts at the age of 12, but that was really just the draw of a far off and distant land (the mythic “east”) and the iconography and aesthetics of it all.
But I remember when I real became interested in Buddhism was when I was sat in a bar in Cheltenham, I was a little bit drunk and rambling on to this bloke I had just been introduced to about how I thought the majority of problems people have is because they were always wanting more and more things and if they were just appreciated what they had got then the world would be a much better place and we would all be happier (see I was even “Slow” back then…). He interrupted me to ask me “How long have you been interested in Buddhism?”, I had no idea what he was talking about and asked him what he meant, he said I had almost, word for word quoted the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths:
- Life is suffering.
- The origin of suffering is craving (or attachment to things).
- The cessation of suffering is attainable by relinquishing cravings.
- We can follow the path to the cessation of suffering.
Turns out this guy was an ex-Buddhist monk and he introduced me to Buddhism, recommended books, and groups and events where I could learn more (I feel a bit guilty, as I can’t even remember his name!).
I studied Buddhism through my early 20’s, getting involved with varies groups including The “Friends of the Western Buddhist Order” (FWBO) and “Sanbo Kyodan Zen”, but around 2004 I found myself getting more and more distracted by the world of more, until I peaked in 2007 and found myself the craving, striving, stressed “success coach” that I had become.
What has this potted history of my relationship and involvement in Buddhism have to do with Slow or John Naish?
Well, over the years studying the Buddha’s teachings and methods I starting to formulate the idea that Buddhism was not really a religion but a process of therapy and the Buddha was in fact the first “psychotherapist”! His teachings helped you undo our natural propensity to want and crave and evolve beyond our instinctive urges.
I was not alone in this interpretation and notable Buddhist scholars such as Stephen Bachelor, Caroline and David Brazier, to name a few, have discussed Buddhist techniques and ideology, particularly Zen practices in a therapeutic context. Philip Kapleau has explaines:
“Bompu (or Ordinary) Zen, being free from any philosophic or religious content, is for anybody and everybody. It is a Zen practiced purely in the belief that it can improve both physical and mental health. Since it can almost certainly have no ill effects, anyone can undertake it, whatever religious beliefs they happen to hold or if they hold none at all. Bompu Zen is bound to eliminate sickness of a psychosomatic nature and to improve the health generally.”
This has finally led to Western psychologists and therapists, particularly Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg, to have researched and studied Buddhist practices, particularly mindfulness, and recent research supports promising mindfulness-based therapies for a number of medical and psychiatric conditions, notably chronic pain, stress, depression and substance abuse and recurrent suicidal behaviour.
The more I study, explore and develop the slow life, in particular the slow mindset (which, to me, is where it is at), the more I recognise that mindfulness is the corner stone to that mindset and the spring from where everything else comes.
SC
If you liked this post, please bookmark in Digg, StumbledUpon, Twitter, etc, I would really appreciate it
Life is Journey, Not a Destination
by Matt Caulfield on July 23, 2009
in Practical Idling
“A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu.
The problem with our goal/success/achievement driven society is that we spend so much time fixating on the goal that we miss the process.
Whenever I have something I want to achieve (and Slow is not about NOT achieving things that you want), once I have defined my goal I always ask myself, “What is the most fun way?”.
It may not be the quickest way, but at least I enjoy getting there! And by picking the most fun way, you are much more likely to “succeed” as you are enjoying yourself so much on the way you keep going, rather than struggling, hating every minute of it and giving up!
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The Best of Tortoise Knows Best So Far…(Part 2: The WordPress.com Days)
by Matt Caulfield on June 11, 2009
in Best Of
Continuing the best of theme. Here is the “best of” the WordPress.com days (running from October ’08 – January ’09):
The Little Things
Where I muse on how it is often the little things that we don’t really pay attention too that makes us the happiest in life, not the big bucks stuff we would expect.
Tempo Guisto
About how Slow doesn’t always mean ‘slow’…
First (and so far only) entry in an occasion series discussing time…
How, by slowing down you will start to help and inspire other people to do the same, just by your actions.
How to Be Slow in Fast Environment Series
Part 2: The Key Traits to be Slow in a Fast Environment.
I started this series again and continued it in the SlowCasts (see yesterdays “Best Of”)
Cleanliness is Next to Slowliness
About how being slow isn’t about being lazy or slothful (a re-occurring theme) and how disorganisation and mess is “anti-Slow”.
Slow Odes Part 1: Public Transport
First (and so far only) post in an occasional series praising Slowness.
Twittering Nonsense.
Being rather critical of Twitter. I have been experimenting with it recently here and will post a follow-up entry soon.
Part 3: The Podbean Days will be up tomorrow.
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Slow Cast Episode 7: An Interlude, How to Slow Down Again
by Matt Caulfield on June 5, 2009
in SlowCasts
In this, very belated, new podcast, the Slow Coach takes a break and talks about what do to if you find yourself speeding up when you want to be slowing down…
Get it Here or click on the link on the homepage.
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How to Slow Down Again
by Matt Caulfield on June 4, 2009
in Practical Idling
I thought since I have recently falling off the Slow train I would discuss in this blog some ways to start slowing down again if you find yourself accidentally slipping back into those fast, hare brained ways….
1. Don’t Give Up!
We are used to demanding and getting results very quickly and if we don’t we become impatient and give up and move onto the next thing that will give us that instant gratification.
But don’t give up, it is natural that we will slip up and make mistakes from time to time, doesn’t mean we have to give up. Thomas Edison took over 2000 attempts to make a light bulb after all…
2. Don’t Beat Yourself Up About It
We all make mistakes, beating yourself up will just mean it will take longer to get back on the slow train. And it will make you feel bad. So, what’s the point. Self criticism, like over-confidence, is a hare brained process.
3. Pay Attention.
Become mindful of your thought processes, and the feelings you are getting. Don’t judge it, just be mindful of the thoughts and feelings, this will help you stop associating with the mistake and give you some distance and perspective to remind yourself why you want to slow down. Use that thought to motivate yourself to start slowing down again.
4. STOP!
Don’t rush to get back on the Slow train. Rushing to Slow Down in is rather absurd don’t you think? Take some time off, an hour, a day, a week, however much time you have and think you need. Chill out relax, don’t actively do anything either slow or fast, just make some space
5. Learn From It
What was it that caused you to fall off? Was it a specific event? Or a series of things? Was it your thinking? Your organisation skills? See what it was and then focus your time in sorting that area out…
6. Start Slowing Down Again. Slowly.
Pick one of the key area’s of slowing down. Maybe de-cluttering your life, maybe practicing being mindful, maybe focusing on single tasking and slowly start adding more slow processes. Before you know it you will be back in the Slow swing of things!
I am still tinkering with the site, adding bits and bobs, if you find anything that isn’t working, please let me know
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PS, Just claiming my new blog on technorati:
Normal Service Has Resumed
by Matt Caulfield on June 3, 2009
in Slow Blogging
Well hello and welcome back, or should I say welcome to my new home. I am sure you have seen the previous post, so I don’t need to talk about the new site. Obviously, it is brand spanking new and just out of it’s wrapper so there are some tweaks and changes that need to be done, like adding more ads (want to advertise? Contact me), adding the links so you can actually buy something in the store rather than look, etc.
But anyway, as a first proper post back I should really make this an apology. You see I feel royally off the Slow Wagon about a month ago and have only just got back on it. I didn’t take my own advice and was disorganised and trying to do about 10 things at once, this not only stopped me from blogging but also meant that once everything had ground to a halt and I was free from all the hectic hubbub I got struck down with an almighty cold that turned into chest AND ear infection and laid me out for a couple of weeks.
So here I am, back on fighting form and ready to get going again, a new podcast will be coming tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime I will review the old posts, see what I was talking about and carry on from there. Probably. Or may do something totally new. I haven’t decided yet!
Either way, I will be back posting regular hints and tips of how to slow down and keeping you informed of my continuing adventures.
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Slow News Friday
by Matt Caulfield on March 20, 2009
in Slow Blogging
I have decided to do a new feature, every Friday (well, really, every Friday that I can) I am going to discuss any news story or stories that have come up this week that have a slow angle…
And as luck would have it, this story appeared in the newspaper just today:
This utterly ridiculous and a symptom of the continued pressure place on on children and parent (by whom?) to perform better.
Can’t children just left to be children for awhile?! The study reported here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,482840,00.html
Suggested that this increased pressure on children at school has more negative effects than positive one.
Really. Is this pushing children so hard necessary? When I talk about the concept of “Slow Work” I often talk about how children rarely disguish between work and play and are quite happy to do what we would consider hard toil. And the key to a stress free working life is to regain that childlike attitude to work.
But, with these absurd new approaches children will have that (essential?) play taken away.
If you want a more measured and probably saver and productive way to bring up children I highly recommend you read Carl Honares book Under Pressure: Putting the Child Back In Childhood: Putting the Child Back into Childhood
Matt
