Lack of Holiday Cheer

Everything below is all personal opinion. So, please take no offense to what follows.

I have a confession to make. Now, this may or may not come as a complete and total surprise to all of you out there, but I have a strong dislike for this time of year. There’s something about this time of year that just turns me off. While everyone else gets caught up in the holiday cheer; I just want to hide in a hole until 26.December.

I’ve heard that this time of year is supposed to hold some sort of magic. It’s supposed to be a time of year where people treat each other better.

I don’t think I’ve ever understood that.

Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.

Now granted, I’m willing to admit that after working too many years in retail that I am truly jaded by this season. I’ve been yelled at by I don’t know how many people who want something specific and happen to be out of stock of it. Now, I know it’s not my fault… but people take it personally. So, all of a sudden they’re telling me it’s m fault.

Yeah, I haven’t seen many people who are willing to be full of goodwill at this time of year.

Another thing that gives me pause is that this time of year, more than any other, has a higher suicide rate. It’s overly stressful when it doesn’t really need to be.

Than there’s the whole idea of gift giving at Xmas…

Now, I’m not saying that anybody’s wrong for loving this. More power to you. It’s just not for me. Thankfully I have an SO who also feels the same way. I would much rather give gifts through out the year and constantly see people I care about be happy year-round. To me, this is much more rewarding than waiting until the end of the year and give them things. Maybe it’s that whole instant gratification thing, but it’s something that I enjoy.

Than there’s the music… Music that starts playing long before what should be considered as the Xmas season. There’s only so many times that I can hear “White Christmas” before I want to listen to something else.

For me, I think that fellowship for your fellow humans should be year-round. You shouldn’t just appreciate people once a year. And that’s the real tragedy of it all. Most people don’t think outside of themselves more than at the end of the year… or at least that’s been my previous experience.

I think my SO stated it best when it comes to Xmas, “Once you get to Halloween, the year is pretty much over for you.” More or less it’s true. And also, historically speaking it’s appropriate. In a lot of pagan religions, Halloween is the new year. Maybe, somewhere deep in my own psyche, that’s the way it is (though, in all fairness I actually do enjoy celebrating New Year’s).

No, I’m not dismissing Thanksgiving… it’s just a more complicated thing as my birthday often falls around or on Thanksgiving. So, my feeling about it are separate.

Anyways, I guess this whole Xmas thing is a bit lost on me.