The 12 Days of Christmas are done — Trump will be soon
I say there is no darkness but ignorance.
— William Shakespeare, Twelfth
Night
From December 25 until January 6 many celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas, the coming of Epiphany, the visit of the Magi. In my latter days at CMU my wife and I would hold 12th Night parties for friends and colleagues. Fun, music, good food, enjoyable drinks, my model railroad and pleasant memories.
December the 25th is not the actual birthday of Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth. He was born on September 11, 3 BCE, as far as biblical scholars can determine. The first recorded Christmas celebration was in Rome on 25 December 336. Whether or not Saturn and Jupiter conjoined to form the Nativity Star has yet to be determined.
This change was to convince peasants to join or stay in the
Roman church.
For many centuries this folk had celebrated the Winter Solstice with decorated trees, candles, gifts, feasts and carousing. One such feast was Saturnalia, a Roman tradition. By the late Republic (133-31 BCE) it had become a weeklong party with gifts, parties, gambling, wreaths, and colorful dress. Schools, work and courts closed, and social norms were suspended ( hee, hee, hee). Slaves participated in the revelries. On the last day of Saturnalia celebration Romans gave their friends small terracotta figurines known as signillaria, which may have referred to older celebrations involving human sacrifice. Pagans and Christians co- existed (not always peacefully) during this period.
These 36 days conjoining years will be over in hours.
This can be for the better if those among us with purpose and empathy can convince the rest to make a nonviolent transition in 2021. We have had enough division, strife and vexation. A third of a million Americans have died, far too many considering how poorly the Trump Administration dealt with the pandemic, the economic losses, the uncertainty and trepidation that resulted. There are many fewer workers now than when he took office. The trillion- dollar Omnibus Monetary Bill will be a start toward undoing the damage.
Historians have already identified Donald J. Trump as the worst president in the history of the United States. Yes, Andrew Johnson was a scoundrel for attempting to undo the legacy of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. True, Richard Nixon tried to rig his reelection campaign through the Watergate breakin in 1974. MSNBC’S Rachel Maddow compares Trump to Spiro Agnew, Nixon’s VP in her new book (with co-author Michael Yarvitz) “Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious CoverUp, And Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House” (Crown, 2020).
She defines Agnew as “a flamethrower and profligate ‘ witch hunt’ pitchman, who, broke the mold of old Republicanism, a crook who loved name calling his critics as well as those investigating him — all the while casually accepting bribes in the hallowed grounds of his White House office.” On Oct. 10, 1973, Agnew resigned from office pleading no contest to federal income tax evasion ten months before Nixon resigned in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
The comparison is curious in that Trump has nowhere near the polish of Agnew, who had a theatric speaking style (“nattering nabobs of negativism,” a phrase he used to refer to the members of the media with whom he had a very rancorous relationship).
The voters decided to rid the White House of Donnyt. A more adroit administration will attempt to calm the waters, reverse the damage, address the real issues affecting our lives: Improving the lives of the most damage among us, reasserting justice for all, reversing the effects of climate change, making voting fair and impartial, reestablishing faith in democracy for those lost in the mire of misinformation, exposing and illuminating the political corruption of the past four years. We can and must move forward.