Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 30, 1994 TAG: 9401270143
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cody Lowe
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I can just hear Jackie Vernon's voice calling out the happy greetings in a new "Frosty the Snowman" television cartoon.
In his reincarnation, Frosty reappears in a late January blizzard and forces his creators to set up a big-screen TV and couch in a giant cooler so he can relax with some brews and watch the Superbowl.
I hadn't thought about the notion that Super Bowl Sunday is becoming established as the nation's premiere secular holiday - needing its own pre-season cartoon specials - until co-worker Betsy Biesenbach mentioned it earlier this week.
Another 50 years of Super Bowls, she said, and "merchants will find a way to get us to buy presents and do the other stuff that makes some of us miserable."
We will send cards, Betsy figures, for this national "Express Your Violent Feelings Vicariously by Being a Spectator Day."
When the big day arrives, a crowd in the living room dips into a big pot of chili and a platter of nachos. There are cheers and moans, the game ends and the whole thing is over.
It's such a neat holiday. Tidy. No unrealistic expectations - except maybe that we can eat and drink so much without paying for it later.
For Betsy, "this is what a holiday is SUPPOSED to be. It has no other aim than to be a diversion from daily life."
Betsy, again: "I was sitting in church on Christmas thinking about how very much we expect from one little day - peace on Earth, peace in our families, good times, good food, good gifts, relaxation. And we really don't get all of it."
Some people, like Betsy, contend the the "emotional and religious baggage" attached to Christmas make that holiday a mixed blessing.
Super Bowl Sunday, on the other hand, has none of that. "We say we're going to eat, drink and watch football, and that's what we do."
Betsy's not alone in her desire for an uncomplicated, secular holiday.
One could argue that we already have plenty of those - Labor Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Lee-Jackson-King Day, the Fourth of July.
But the idea of adding one more - Super Bowl Sunday - may not be so far-fetched.
We have, after all, long since dropped the original conception of a "holy day" set aside on the church calendar. Many holidays that originated as "holy days" have become almost completely secularized - St. Patrick's Day, for instance.
A pretty good argument could be made that Christmas is more of a secular holiday than a religious one, even for many Christians.
The dominating commercial and secular nature of the holiday has led some Christians to propose that it be given over to that. Let Christmas become a minor church "holy day," they say. Then put the religious emphasis on Easter - a far more significant event in Christianity's history - and one that has not become so commercialized.
Until that happens, though, Betsy may have to watch out that her Super Bowl holiday doesn't become too religious.
A number of organizations are promoting a relatively new "ministry" in which Christians are supposed to invite friends and neighbors in to watch the game, then show them an evangelistic video during halftime.
I'd advise them not to invite Betsy.
by CNB