Wood and Cardboard Sustainable Christmas Trees
View all
Little Things of Christmas, a book by Francesca Rigotti
The MAG 10/22
REVIEW by Cristina Morozzi
An object is a window through which we observe the world to understand what it is telling us about society.
Francesca Rigotti was born and raised in Milan and received her degree in philosophy from the University of Milan. She has four children and currently lectures in communication science at the University of Italian Switzerland and has authored numerous publications including Nuova filosofia delle Piccole Cose (New Philosophy of Little Things) and Le piccole cose di Natale, Una interpretazione laica (The Little Things of Christmas: A non-religious interpretation).
At the beginning of the latter book, she points out that an object does not mean that it is a thing, stating that an object is a window through which we observe the world to understand what it is telling us about society, and that a thing is more general than an object. She uses a snowman as an example, pointing out that it is not just snow, a pipe and a carrot put together, but is ontologically something else: a poem, a work, a figure. She also mentions candles, which offer the allure of light, pointing out that light has always been associated with positive values, contrasted with the negativity of darkness.
Discussing gifts, she remarks that “Christmas gifts that are given to children are a form of restitution, in that they consist of giving children the joy that adults experienced in childhood in finding presents under the tree and opening them”. She also addresses the topic of Christmas music and suggests Schubert and Mozart.
