Every holiday is highly commercialized, but Christmas has them all beat. Halloween may dominate every October, but there are year-around Christmas stores to be found in places across the nation. In spite of all the commercial hype, if people are honest, most would admit that the season has more than its fair share of magic, such as the excitement of children opening presents from Santa Claus on Christmas morning. People of faith strive to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Plenty of folks have discovered the incredible joy of giving, including volunteering time for such things as feeding the homeless or visiting lonely senior citizens in nursing homes. Providing gifts for needy families gives the spirit of the season a real boost. But here’s the thing: For a whole bunch of others, Christmas doesn’t have much redeeming value and for good reason.
No kids, no magic
There are seasons of life for countless millions that don’t have any kids in the family. Many have no family connections at all anymore. Unless adults are blessed with good friends who know how to celebrate, Christmas can serve to amplify a sense of loneliness. That sucks.
The music can literally drive you mad
Continuous exposure to Christmas songs on the radio, on commercials, and especially when played loudly in stores has been identified as a form of psychological torture, especially when the X-mas tunes start too many weeks ahead of the actual event. People report feeling anxious, trapped, and coerced into buying more presents, organizing events, and overzealously decorating their homes
One word: Relatives
While some are to be pitied for their solitude, others experience the greatest agony of the season during forced visitation with relatives. There’s no denying that this year, more than probably ever in anyone’s lifetime or memory, the subject of politics can cause instant rage and create divide that seems irreparable. It doesn’t need to be that way, but that is certainly the climate since the last presidential election.
The real Bah-Humbug!
Sometimes a little self-centeredness makes sense, whether we deserve to get what we want for Christmas or not. One of the worst parts of the season for those whose hearts are not quite in the right place is the receiving of either nothing or of nothing that is wanted. The real question is: Why do kids get their stuff but adults are left in the cold? It makes adulthood comparatively even worse than it already is.
There’s apparently no way to avoid in-your-face Christmas! You may love it or hate it. If you hate it, do you happen to have a secret coping skill you’d like to share? If you are handling it well but won’t share, here’s a great shirt for you.
