I dislike Christmas with a passion.
Going through some of the themes from this thread.... "food and drink"... I am in Overeaters Anonymous trying to control my desire to overeat, and this time of year is by far the hardest. Whether at work or with family, there is always lots and lots of free food. And it's not fruits and vegetables.... this is the time of year for chocolates and cookies and egg nog.
"Consumerism".... I avoided going back to Halifax the past few years. It seemed Christmas was totally about GETTING STUFF!!! I'd go to my brothers place to watch the family unwrap their presents and it would take 4 hours. To them, Christmas was a time to overextend the credit card and remortgage the house to buy stuff that they really didn't need. I, myself, have asked that everyone not get me a gift because I don't believe in Christmas. But if they feel obligated to giving a gift, that I'd accept receipts for cash donations to the food bank in my name that I can claim on my taxes.
People assume that when I say "I don't believe in Christmas" that I have a hate-on for Christianity. Which isn't exactly true... I think every religion should be able to have their own beliefs and celebrations thereof; I simply wish that Christians would celebrate theirs in private more than in public but whatever. It's all good. The truth is that it is the SECULAR celebration that repulses me. From food to material goods to house lighting - this has become a season of excess. My nephew has 40 Lego sets while five million children die each year from malnutrition related diseases.
From an environmentalist perspective, from a social-justice activist perspective, and from a slightly selfish perspective given my particular addiction, this is by far the worst time of year for me. From all of this swirled into a perfect storm, I usually end up very depressed by the end of the season. The scenes of people trampling each other on Black Friday or Boxing day. Looking at all the stuff lining the roads the garbage day after Christmas. Seeing people gorge themselves to excess (and SO WANTING TO BE THAT PERSON). Most years I wish I could fall asleep and wake up in January.
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This year is going to be a bit different though. My brother is going through a rough time financially so they are really, really scaling back Christmas this year. It will be an absolute shock to the kids who are used to getting thousands of dollars in gifts. This will be the year (I hope) that they learn Christmas shouldn't be about "getting stuff"; it's should be about spending time with family. Their uncle is only in town for two or three weeks of the year, why not take the opportunity to go play glow in the dark mini-putt or try some Uno or Mariocart. We could read some books together and sing some songs. If the Who's down in Whoville can enjoy Christmas without presents, then why can't we?
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