Christmas is about motherhood

From time to time I find it necessary to update “The Depressed-Disney-Dad at Christmas when his Ex has the Kids” playlist. This playlist is also known as “Contemplations Upon the Mysteries of Solitude at the Winter Solstice.” The pieces here are chosen for their lack of Christmas cheer.

An update is necessary because the shifting sands of YouTube policy tend to make videos disappear. For instance, O magnum mysterium by Mortem Lauridsen went missing along with In the Bleak Mid-Winter. They have been restored to their rightful place.

From time to time a piece of nativity music needs to be added. That is the case with Arcangelo Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and Ottorino Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity. Respighi barely made it onto the playlist because it has a cheerful section but thankfully it is short-lived.

Instrumental music such as Corelli’s Christmas Concerto provides the dad with a respite from the non-stop mother and child nativity ideology. Let’s be honest about this. The nativity is about motherhood. That’s bad news for the depressed-Disney-dad.

Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, based on a 13th Century Latin text, comes right out and says it. Joseph is “...Too old and weary for to help the mother.” The text of “O magnum mysterium” proclaims, “Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.” The text of Ave Maria states, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

Indeed. Christmas is all about the mother.

The significance of Christmas and motherhood appears to be missing in the current rallying call of, ”Down with the patriarchy” in such vapid holiday fare as HBO’s Santa Inc. Now, Santa is a different topic than the nativity. However, a show such as Santa Inc, which claims that Christmas is all about an old-white man who needs to check his privilege, ignores the rich tradition of the mother and Christmas.

Perhaps motherhood is undervalued by those who would topple the patriarchy. Even so, the biggest holiday of the year is firmly rooted in the value of motherhood and the concept of birth be it that of Jesus or Sol Invictus — the invincible sun which is reborn on December 25th.

This Christmas is an opportunity to venerate the mother and take a break from woke culture. Need I say that the mother need not be biological? If anyone is confused as to who their non-biological mother could possibly be, I say look to the cookies. Whoever makes the Christmas cookies bears the mantle of mother.

Even the depressed-Disney-dad has the opportunity to find the warmth of motherhood somewhere in the bleak mid-winter.