In the Spirit of Everyman
The ‘spirit’ of a thing, to me, is AS important AS the ‘thing itself. Wide notion yes? Apologies in advance. I’m hopelessly pragmatic about things like this. Let’s take an everyday example of what I’m saying. For throwaways sake, let’s say you invite me for dinner but the moment I set foot in your place you tell me what a terrible hassle it’s been for you, traffic, work and so it goes on.
Me, I immediately get to thinking I’d like to get up and leave right then and there. To my way of thinking it’s a legitimate thought. Personally I’d rather not be any further inconvenience to you. But I don’t leave then because in the ‘spirit’ of your original invitation I try to find something of the welcome and camaraderie that’s implicit in it. Get my drift? Ever been some place when the host/ess isn’t talking to their partner? It’s uncomfortable for the guests, awful!
“The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. The ‘spirit’ of the Anzacs conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning. Anzac is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. This corps was created early in the Great War of 1914–18. In December 1914 the Australian Imperial Force and New Zealand Expeditionary Force stationed in Egypt were placed under the command of Lieutenant General William Birdwood.
Initially the term Australasian Corps was suggested, but Australians and New Zealanders were reluctant to lose their separate identities completely. No one knows who came up with the term Anzac. The acronym itself has been attributed to a New Zealand clerk, Sergeant K.M. Little at Birdswood’d headquarters for use on a rubber stamp. Some time later it was taken on as the telegraph code word for the corps.
Consisting of the 1st Australian Division and the New Zealand and Australian Division (under Major-General A.J. Godley), the corps made its operational debut at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The small cove where Australian and New Zealand troops landed was quickly designated ‘ANZAC Cove’, and the word was soon being used to describe all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought on the peninsula. Common themes in the Anzac speeches were nationhood, loyalty, sacrifice and peace. During the Depression, Anzac Day speeches mentioned the ideals of unity and selflessness.
Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas’ (commonly known as ‘A Christmas Carol’) was first published on December 19, 1843 and was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. Originally the word carol referred to a medieval round dance and then a word for a particular type of ballad. By Dickens’ time the word carol had come closer to its modern meaning, being a joyful hymn specific to Christmas.
Dickens took this musical analogy further by dividing his novella (consists of a character, incident, theme and language that are all focussed on contributing to a single issue that will be of a serious nature and have universal significance) into five “staves” (stave 1: Marley’s Ghost, stave 2:The First of the Three Spirits, stave 3:The Second of the Three Spirits, stave 4:The Last of the Spirits and stave 5:The End of It) instead of chapters.
The Ghost of Christmas Past is a strange mixture of young and old, male and female with a light shining from the crown of its head, appears at the stroke of one. It leads Scrooge on a journey to some of his past Christmases, where events shaped his life and character. Next, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes him through the bustling streets of London on the current Christmas morning, sprinkling the essence of Christmas onto the happy populace.
He’s shown what others think of him. They travel far and wide, and see how even the most wretched of people mark Christmas in some way, whatever their circumstances. He shows Scrooge two pitiful children huddled under his robes who personify the major causes of suffering in the world, “Ignorance” and “Want” with a grim warning that the former is especially harmful. At the end of the visitation, the bell strikes twelve. The Ghost of Christmas Present vanishes and the third spirit appears to Scrooge.
The Ghost of Christmas-Yet-to-Come takes the form of a grim spectre, robed in black, who does not speak and whose body is entirely hidden except for one pointing hand. This spirit frightens Scrooge more than the others. A rich miser, whose death saddens nobody and whose home and corpse have been robbed by ghoulish attendants is revealed to be Scrooge himself: this is the fate that awaits him. Without it explicitly being said, Scrooge learns that he can avoid the future he has been shown and alter the fate of Tiny Tim, but only if he changes. Weeping, he swears to do so, and awakes to find that all three spirits have visited in just one night, and that it is Christmas morning.”
In the beginning, I felt that the ‘spirit’ of a thing was AS important AS ‘the thing’. I’m convinced even more now that what that ‘spirit’ equates to is the embodiment of the idea into an action. From my earlier example, I STAY despite my host/ess telling me what a hassle it’s been for them, how awful their day has been BECAUSE eventually I hope what they’ll do is come be present with me in the moment! It can take a little while so it pays to be patient.
I’m remembering a time once when all these ingredients were present in a situation. In the end, the merlot I’d taken was eaten with a great pizza, I took over Under 2ft duties and in a first for the household Under 2ft-er’s were in bed by 7pm, not asleep till 7.30pm (my secret? A no nonsense approach, carefully crafted on my own three) BUT I was eating pizza and having a glass of red by 7.45pm. It was great!
The ‘spirit’ of a thing is relational, it’s an intangible sense that transpires between us, a tie that binds. With Christmas just a week away, I should like to keep alive the spirit of Christmas, that is, this sense of goodwill toward all of you because for a moment in time I’m fully present in this thought, it’s the only one that matters to me right now. In that ‘spirit’, Meri Kirihimete, Happy Christmas friend.
