poetree

Every Christmas, as far back as I can remember, my entire family would gather around the TV set to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. At first, this was just me and my parents; then my brother came along. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents cycled in and out. Sometimes my brother and I would have friends over for the day.

Older still and my parents divorced, but I still watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas every Christmas Day, no matter which parent I spent it with. Last year I watched it with only a housemate, because my blood family was out of town. By now, it doesn't feel like Christmas until the DVD (or video, or television broadcast) flickers into being, the Whos start singing, and Boris Karloff begins speaking:

"Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot..."

But that is a movie, and this is a poetry comm! What has this got to do with Doctor Seuss? Well, he wrote it, of course—not all of it, though. The movie adds several additional stanzas written by Irv Spector and Bob Ogle. The music is also new, but that is written by Dr. Seuss, or the lyrics were. The animation is based off Seuss's own original artwork, but was not done by Seuss. Seuss was heavily involved in the production, but he did not direct it, nor did he have final say.

So let's return to the original book. There are some differences: fewer words, less artwork, none of the visual business that simply isn't possible in a book. In essence, though, it is much the same: the Grinch plans to stop Christmas by dressing up as Santa Claus and taking all of the accoutrements of Christmas, the trees and the presents and such. Still, once he's taken everything and prepared to destroy it, he finds to his surprise that Christmas is not about the accoutrements, but about the meaning you assign to it. It's a message of understanding, of celebration, and of compassion. The words are the same (or very similar)-- the rhymes are the same, the made-up words just as memorable, the images as close as possible given the differing mediums. The only real difference between watching the animated version and reading the book (or having it read to you) is that there are moving visuals.

The Grinch is part of Christmas for me now, in a way that no other tradition has ever really managed to match. It's a piece of continuity, a constant through twenty-five years of life, three cross-country moves, my parents' divorce, my first apartment, living alone. Dr. Seuss remains enjoyable, no matter how old I get. No matter how experienced or cynical I become, How the Grinch Stole Christmas still resonates. It's still important.

Compassion and celebration never go out of style, and neither will Dr. Seuss.

Has Dr. Seuss formed any meaningful traditions for you? Anyone read The Lorax on Earth Day every year? Anyone think I should start?

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