Okay.... Here goes...
I loathe Christmas ..
Or to be more precise... I loathe what Christmas has become ..
I loathe it to the point where I now avoid visiting the centre of the city during shopping hours like it's been the epicentre of the Zombie Apocalypse, which in a way, it has ..
I have never been materialistic, preferring to own a few, higher quality things than many middling to poor quality things. As an example, my wardrobe currently consists of one pair of jeans, one pair of walking boots, five casual shirts, perhaps ten teeshirts, assorted socks and nether wear, my tiger onesie (wearing this as I write), one short jacket, one raincoat, a Weirdfish top and thats about it.
The major deviation from this is literature. There can never be enough books in my collection. I am an incurable, unapologetic Bibliophile.
But I digress.
As the song plainly tells us, there are twelve days of Christmas. There are not three plus MONTHS of Christmas.
What are the additional two months and thirteen days for?
Bowing in supplication at the altar of Consumerism. The New Religion.
A new religion of which there are a number of denominations.
There are the Plebians who worship possessions of any sort... Something new on the Market? Gotta have it... "Oh oh oh Christmas is a-coming, all those movies that are going to be on TV..." (despite the fact you can get any of them on Netflix or DVD), "We'd better buy ourselves a New Whizzbang 64" curved screen ambient lighting cinema sound immersive experience makes the tea in the commercial breaks SamSony TV".
These are the folk who will proudly present You, their 'BFF' with a tastelessly Christmas packaged can of Lynx (or the feminine equivalent) or some other cheap trifle on Dec 25th that they purchased (probably in bulk) from the local Poundshop (or Walmart if You're a Colonial). These folk are mortally afraid that if they don't give something to everyone in their acquaintance they will die of Social Shame.
Well fuck that noise with a rampant rabbit the size of a fire hydrant.
Currently, the people on my Christmas Present list number.... Two ..
And I sired both of them.
But I am not planning on walking blissfully into (even more) poverty for my little darlings. Nope. They will each receive a gift or two, carefully chosen to be something they will enjoy and something, hopefully, to treasure. And that's it... Perhaps, in Your eyes that makes me a bad parent? Oh well, peer pressure and conforming to societal norms never was my strong suit, especially if indulging that 'norm' would mean me indoctrinating those around me into that 'norm'. I would rather my offspring think for themselves than be pressured like sheep into a culturally acceptable pen and I, for one, will NOT exert pressure on them to be anything other than their wonderful, beautiful, intelligent selves.
I am not so insecure that I feel the need to buy my friends and acquaintances affection for the next twelve months. If you think my friendship is that cheap, I ain't selling and the door is thataway ➡️
And Christmas cards! What a waste of fucking time, effort and money that is (and another ploy by big business to extort money from You... See also: Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Easter, etc, etc, etc). Listen, if You like or love someone enough to give them a Christmas card (or any of the aforementioned cards on the appropriate "Holiday") then instead of a card do one of these two simple things... 1) Call them or 2) Visit them.
Give Your Liked and Loved ones the gift of Your Time. That is the most valuable thing You have, every second of Your life, once given, can never be regained, and You have a finite supply.
And if the recipient doesn't appreciate You giving them something as valuable as this, then what the fuck are they doing being Your friend anyway? Fuck'em off and find someone that DOES appreciate You and Your time.
YOU, my friend, are the greatest gift You can give this Christmas ..
This is a rough read, but it speaks the truth. The only thing I will say that if receiving at least a small gift on "special" days is something that makes someone you especially love happy, it's a small thing to do. I'm not sure relationships with those we're close to should necessarily be used as opportunities to prove a point, good or bad. Otherwise, I agree that things are definitely out of control and that our demonstrations of love should be all day, every day, both tangible and intangible. Right or wrong, most people want some token, some evidence that they are special to someone. At the risk of stereotyping, women can be particularly sensitive to this. Indeed, it could be argued that the more one demonstrates love materially or otherwise on a daily basis, the less likely it is that those we love are likely to try to elicit evidence of love on any special day(s). While it might be tempting to promote one's position and ignore another's reasonable desires, this position is not likely to illicit positive results. As with everything in life, there has to be a win/win situation if people are to live in reasonable harmony. As an illustration, a husband may not want to spend a dime on gifts during holidays, but he knows his wife desires some type of token. He has to decide whether he's going to prove a point while watching her unhappiness or if he will meet her halfway with something small but delightful. I, for one, would choose the latter, simply because I know that it would make the one I love happy; and, it's a small thing for me to do. It literally is no sweat off my back. This is my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteSorry I left the title off of the previous comment: "Response to a Grinch" Thanks for your ongoing support.
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