Quakes and taking the "Christ" out of Christmas

Strangest thing: I wasn't homesick until another big earthquake hit Christchurch. Seriously. Despite the endless job hunt, the lack of close friends, the unfamiliar city, I have been having a wonderful time. I love it here and I'm having so much fun.

Then I see "6.0" on the NZ Herald site and I suddenly wish I was home. Masochistic? Loyal? Crazy? Not sure, but I bet there are a lot of people in Christchurch who would be happy to swap!

So I spent Christmas with my dad's family, he's here until new year's day so he's playing chauffeur. It was a great Christmas, I talked to Mum and Peggy on Christmas Day NZ time (eve in Canada) and got a couple great gifts. After a mini debate about the whole "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas" thing it struck me that the only people who care about this debate are people who care too much in either direction. Extremists, one might say. These days Christmas isn't about God any more than it's about celebrating Saturn (the god, not the planet). "In ancient Rome Saturnalia, a celebration honoring [sic] the god Saturn, involved parades, “decking the halls” with greenery, visiting friends and exchanging gifts."

So wait... Half our traditions for December 25 come from the Roman day celebrating their equivalent of Zeus? Next year I'm going to campaign for a return to the true meaning of the date - Saturn's epic awesomeness.

There's my annual rant. Hope you enjoyed it.

At the moment we're relaxing in Ottawa - eating too much food and watching a lot of movies. Saw the new Sherlock Holmes. Two main things: Stephen Fry is my God and that chick from Dragon Tattoo looks a lot better when she's not emaciated. It was really good, lots of little things in it for people who are familiar with the original stories and plenty of action for people who don't care about that. Not sure it was as good as the first one but well worth the $8. I return to Toronto on the 31st and will probably hang with my cousin to celebrate the new year then head to Hamilton to see Mum's family for the holiday season (All Hail Saturn).

Hope y'all had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to you.