Quick: Naughty or Nice?

If you could be only naughty or only nice, which would you choose? I know, I know - the obvious answer is nice. But most people are naughty at least sometimes. How much fun would it be to have license to be naughty? It wouldn't make the world a better place...but it could be fun, dontcha think? At least now and again? (Okay, that's not ONLY naughty or nice - you're right, you caught me, so what?)

What would you do if you had that carte blanche to be naughty? If you had no fear of repercussions or reprisals? If nobody would be hurt by your actions...at least not for real? Before you tell me that you want no naughtiness ever, let's remember that the frowned-upon rebellion and defiance and simply giving in to the inclination for mischief often yields "the greater good" - and a whole lot of potential fun.

Alternatively, if you have no impulse to be naughty ever, what do you do to be nice? Why do you like being nice? Are you duty-bound? Do you take pleasure in doing the nice thing?  It's a no-brainer that being nice makes the world a more pleasant place. Or maybe you just want treats in your Christmas stocking instead of coal?

I grew up in a home with three fireplaces, but never once were they decorated with stockings for treats or coal. Santa was never invited down any of the chimneys. No tree, no tinsel, no caroling (though we knew all the words, from school and the radio). No ham or goose or plum pudding or ancient fruit cake (not something I ever missed, truth be told).

So we also were never admonished to a fear of coal in the stockings that were never hung up. But there's something fundamental about taking a moment to reflect on the past year and think about whether you've been "naughty" or nice" - it seems to be a universal human need for seasonal reflection, though the seasons differ across cultures, of course. We force ourselves to pay attention to the year that has passed - to note the good deeds, the ones that need improvement and maybe atonement....and to establish resolutions for the coming year (oh, wait, that's next week!).

Sitting in Jerusalem on Christmas Eve is uncommon, I think, among Christmas Eve experiences across the world. Christmas is not in the air. Not anywhere. Well, actually, that's an exaggeration - go to Bethlehem or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Via Dolorosa and Christmas is holy. Those last two are surely more important for Easter, but special Christmas mass draws many visitors. Truth be told, I've never been to either, but back in the days when the road to Gush Etzion passed through Bethlehem, I did travel it once on Christmas Eve. The road was lit with festive lights, just as most of the United States and Europe enters Christmas mode. Somehow, incredibly appropriate - no matter how little I personally celebrate the day (and I'm quite averse...except for the festive element).

  

Just for the record, Jerusalem IS festive - Chanukah is in the air. But that will have to wait for another post. Fortunately, there are 8 days to Chanukah, so I have a few more. As my 5-year-old nephew told his 7-year-old-sister, when she complained that they receive fewer presents than their Christian schoolmates, "No, we have EIGHT days" (he's good at math). They have no fear of coal either. 

In the meantime, I encourage a moment of reflection on the past year - naughty or nice? And how much naughty do you want in your coming year of nice?