12th
The Lovely Christmas Season
I hate Christmas. I’ve never really been a big fan of the season, and the events of the past year have pushed me over the edge. I hate the decorations (lights left on all night to make a house look like it has fake icicles hanging from the roof is a waste electricity), I hate the obnoxious commercials and the fuel that the media adds to the fire by covering stories about Black Friday (one of the most disgusting phenomenon of American culture) and the increase in sales of the newest item that everyone must have, I hate the rows of trees that are slaughtered each year so they can be propped up in someone’s living room for two weeks before they’re thrown out to the curb, I hate that people constantly try to remind us of the religious aspect of the holiday (it’s a lost cause, no one cares about anything but the packages with their names on the tags) and I hate the fake Christmas spirit that everyone seems to feel the need to portray. Donating a can of soup to a food pantry does not make you a good person. Giving 12 cents in change to the person on the corner ringing the Salvation Army bell does not atone for the other 11 months of the year that you completely ignore everything that is taking place in the world. This holiday is nothing more than an excuse for people to be greedy and, of course, drink. Everyone loves the company Christmas party because it’s an excuse to celebrate, in the name of Christmas, of course.
The entire month of December has been destroyed for me because it is consumed by Christmas. I can think of nothing else when I think about the final month of the year, because the entire month is spent shopping for gifts amidst the surging crowd of greedy consumers on a crusade for the cheapest price, or carefully makings plans for Christmas day that will satisfy the branches of family and friends, and not offend anyone by spending too little time with them, or attempting to frantically finish both work and schoolwork that must be completed before Christmas arrives. December is nothing more than a time for everyone to stress out about every aspect of their lives, and I can’t say that I enjoy such an activity.
The days and weeks that follow Christmas are also unpleasant because during this time everyone comes down from their Christmas high, and the cold, dreary weather is no longer charming; when Christmas ends the charm of winter is gone. The ideas of Christmas cheer and goodwill towards men vanish with the massive amounts of wasted wrapping paper, leaving behind nothing but disappointment that the holiday did not go perfectly according to plan, or simply that next Christmas is an entire year away.
The consumerism that consumes this season is nothing more than an excuse for people to greedily demand gifts and for people to spent inordinate amounts of money. Despite the many unpleasant facts about Christmas, people continue to love it and cherish it, and I’m sure this season will only continue to grow as an excuse for people to act in ways that contradict the ways they act during the other 11 months of the year.
