Everyone has their own Christmas traditions....
If you've read this blog, you realize, I am not a big fan of "holidays" only because we are sold this idea that during something called a "holiday" we all have to line up, like lemmings and do the same thing at the same time, preferably at the highest cost possible.
And most people do this and are miserable. They feel obligated by society to do certain things that they really don't want to do. They go to visit relatives they hate and have a miserable time. They spend hours in crowded airports paying top-dollar to fly at the busiest time of year when weather is most likely to cancel your flight. And then they run around trying to buy the same thing everyone else is trying to buy. It really makes no sense in the abstract.
And it really doesn't have much to do with Jesus, if you get right down to it.
And then there is the matter of repetition. Only Teletubbies say "Again! Again!" and want to do the same thing over and over again 50-100 times in a row. After more than 50 Christmases, well, the thrill is more than gone. Decorating the Christmas tree - kind of boring after age 10. Kind of gaudy from all ages. As I noted in an earlier posting, if someone wants to describe something gaudy and ugly, what do they compare it to? Yea, the phrases "lit up like a Christmas tree" or "looking like a Christmas tree" comes to mind. Yet we set these up in our homes every year. It's as American (and gaudy) as Elvis.
This is not to say I am anti-Christmas or bah-humbug. Only that we need to put this "holiday" in perspective. No, it is not the most wonderful time of the year - that would be in the Spring, I would think. In fact, that song illustrates why we have a winter solstice celebration. It's dark as fuck out, and people are depressed as shit. So we have this over-the-top holiday to cheer us up. And maybe that's not a bad thing.
But it can be whatever you want to make it, too. You are not obligated to any or all of it. You can create your own traditions. You can just take the day off and get caught up on your laundry. Whatever.
And no, you don't have to have the perfect Christmas. And in fact, trying to do so, is just going to cause no end of grief.
So, Merry Fucking Christmas to you. And yours. And a Happy New Year. Time to get started on those taxes.....