Scraps Of Mind

It’s Starting to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Back in the 4th century the Roman Emperor Constantine consulted his market analysts about investing in religion. They told him religion stocks were enjoying a boom but the outlook was for a crash in the near future. However Christianity was showing rapid growth and, with some good management, was set to become ‘the next big thing’.

Recomendation: buy buy buy.

So Constantine bought a controlling interest in Christianity, which at the time was a disorganised group of bickering departments, and he called the first Board Meeting.

One of the key resolutions of the Board was to select 25th December to celebrate Christ’s birthday. Since many of the other religions were already in party mode around this time it seemed like a smart choice. And we’ve stuck with that date ever since. Christmas has fallen on 25th December ever since. For the last 1700 years.

So can somebody please tell me why we get taken by surprise by it every year?
“Oh my God it’s Christmas already and I haven’t started my Christmas shopping yet.”
“We need to bring the delivery date for this project forward because it’s almost Christmas and we want to get it finished before people start going on holidays.”
“Has anyone done anything about organising this year’s Christmas party.”

We do it every year and we never seem to work it out beforehand that Christmas falls at the same time every year so we should be able to plan for it. It’s been 1700 years and we still haven’t learnt.

Anyway I have to close this post because I’ve just realised that it’s Christmas in three weeks and I have to make my Christmas cards to send overseas and start thinking about Christmas shopping. Time for a pre-Christmas panic attack!

Ain’t tradition wonderful.