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I'd rather have two Thanksgivings
Dec. 20th, 2006 01:56 pmI don't like Christmas. There, I've said it.
Christmas is a holiday high on stress, and low on the things that matter. It's a holiday about unreasonable expectations, and too much crammed into too short a time. There are endless rounds of holiday parties, writing out holiday cards, travel, and worrying over budgets. We make umpteen trips to the shopping centers, malls, surf the internet, and fret over whether we have found the perfect gifts for family and friends.
Thanksgiving was always the favorite holiday in my family, because it was a day about being with family. And having turkey, which is one of my favorite meals. The only stress of Thanksgiving was the annual tradition of forgetting the rolls in the oven, and wondering if all the dishes would fit in the dishwasher.
Whatever meaning there once was in Christmas has been lost in the endless commercialization of the holiday (buy diamonds now!) and the knowledge that no holiday celebration can ever live up to the hype.
It will be fun to see my nieces, though I know from past experience that they will be completely overwhelmed by the deluge of gifts from family and friends, one of the perils of a large family with only a few children to shop for. And the holiday is a nice chance to spoil those people who have limited means, and can't afford to buy whatever they want for themselves.
And as for the rest, while I deeply appreciate the gifts I'll receive, and the time that my family and friends have put in trying to find gifts for me, I sympathize with the stress that they went through for their holiday shopping.
One of these years I'm going to propose a ban on Christmas-- instead I'll simply buy gifts for people throughout the year whenever I see something that's perfect for them, and ask them to do the same for me. At Christmas time I'll send any leftover cash to a charity, and host a family dinner.
A turkey dinner, naturally.
Wouldn't that be nice?
Christmas is a holiday high on stress, and low on the things that matter. It's a holiday about unreasonable expectations, and too much crammed into too short a time. There are endless rounds of holiday parties, writing out holiday cards, travel, and worrying over budgets. We make umpteen trips to the shopping centers, malls, surf the internet, and fret over whether we have found the perfect gifts for family and friends.
Thanksgiving was always the favorite holiday in my family, because it was a day about being with family. And having turkey, which is one of my favorite meals. The only stress of Thanksgiving was the annual tradition of forgetting the rolls in the oven, and wondering if all the dishes would fit in the dishwasher.
Whatever meaning there once was in Christmas has been lost in the endless commercialization of the holiday (buy diamonds now!) and the knowledge that no holiday celebration can ever live up to the hype.
It will be fun to see my nieces, though I know from past experience that they will be completely overwhelmed by the deluge of gifts from family and friends, one of the perils of a large family with only a few children to shop for. And the holiday is a nice chance to spoil those people who have limited means, and can't afford to buy whatever they want for themselves.
And as for the rest, while I deeply appreciate the gifts I'll receive, and the time that my family and friends have put in trying to find gifts for me, I sympathize with the stress that they went through for their holiday shopping.
One of these years I'm going to propose a ban on Christmas-- instead I'll simply buy gifts for people throughout the year whenever I see something that's perfect for them, and ask them to do the same for me. At Christmas time I'll send any leftover cash to a charity, and host a family dinner.
A turkey dinner, naturally.
Wouldn't that be nice?
