The other day I asked friend on my Facebook page what Christmas song was their most and least favorite.
And the vast majority just answered that second part.
And with passion, too.
Here were some responses:
“There is not a single Christmas song that I would like to hear.”
I run screaming out of the stores when I hear them…I have to wear my kicker headphones from now on.
I try to avoid going shopping in December. I’m very thankful for Amazon.
Wow, when did we all lose our Christmas spirit?
I don’t know what’s going on this holiday — maybe it’s the biting cold weather hitting parts of the U.S. — but people seem to be in a solid “bah humbug” mood. My girlfriends who are usually finished with their Christmas shopping in November haven’t even started yet. My dad is worried the gifts he ordered — and late — aren’t going to arrive by Dec. 25. And I haven’t received a single can of cookies yet.
What’s going on?
See, I love Christmas. Or maybe I love what Christmas used to be. It reminds of me the final weeks of school, when teachers were in good moods and classmates brought sugar cookies and small gifts to school. You counted down the days ’til Christmas break and then spent those two weeks hanging out at home, baking cookies and wrapping gifts with my mom. I loved every single awesome minute.
And yes, I listened to Christmas music every chance I got.
Now, though, as an adult, we don’t have the luxury of two-week vacations. We are still checking emails and wrapping up projects. Santa doesn’t bring us gifts anymore, either; that responsibility falls to us, and we barely have time to finish our laundry much less buy presents for everyone on our list.
We have to fight crowds, sit in traffic, spend money, bake cookies, wrap gifts. It’s not as fun as it was when we were kids.
But still, I love the spirit of the season. I love that Christmas is about giving and sharing and spending time with our friends and families.
But clearly, not everyone feels the same.
So where are you this holiday season — loving it or hating every stressful moment?
12 Comments
I love that my extended family comes home. Cousins from Montreal, my 95 year old grandfather from Oregon, my brother from LA. Even when I lived away, I made it home every year except for one and the one year that I didn’t return, it was really lonely.
I think that the fact that the Christmas “rush” starts earlier and earlier every year is a factor in the bah humbug-ness. I don’t like to see decorations and lights after Halloween. I think retail companies rely on black Friday keep pushing it faster and faster. I don’t participate in the sales and loathe going to the malls when they’re all crowded and parking sucks. It doesn’t really matter what I buy for my friends and loved ones; they always like what I get them. I put thought into it and don’t just hand out gift cards.
For me the true meaning of the holidays are being with family and loved ones and enjoying their company. Sharing food and making memories are more important than getting the latest gadget at the cheapest price.
I can honestly say that I am not into the Holidays this year. In the past I was driven to do all the Holiday dinners because our home is the only one that is wheelchair assesible for my grandmother. Last year I did Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve and New Years day and I got so burnt out. My grandma passed away in April so I have no motivation to plan anything.
I did enjoy some Christmas shopping but towards the end I was just going thru the motions. I even cut back on what I usually bake during the Season. I’m also trying to be low key because I’m going to be traveling over the New Years so I don’t want to get burnt out.
This is the kind of Christmas I want this year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRSSsNbF29I
I no longer “do” Christmas or rather I do as little as possible. There are many reasons for this but the main reason is because Christmas always disappoints.
I’m with you on this one. Even when bogged down by work and obligations, I think I make the choice to make the most of the Christmas season, because I love it. I’m wondering if Thanksgiving falling so late this year is part of the humbug attitude. So many friends have complained that they feel rushed and that they don’t feel they have time this year for cards, baking, etc. I admit I’m feeling the pressure and time crunch (much of it self-inflicted), so I hope my friends and family like getting New Year cards instead this year. 🙂
I love Christmas! It’s the time of year where we remember the good old days when I dressed in that red costume and delivered the gifts the eve before the boys went to bed! Now they age 24 and 31. No grad kids yet but there’s hope for the coming year! Merry Christmas Cat! Remember the significants of Christmas!
CAT: I am digging Xmas since the advent of gift cards! No need to spend hours looking for the right gift; no need to spend hours looking for parking; no need to spend hours Xmas wrapping; no need to spend so much on inflated gift prices; no need to spend time returning unwanted gifts; no need to spend time looking for the grab bag gift that is only $10; no need to spend time on the road fighting holiday traffic; no need to spend on gift wrapping paper; no need fight the crowd in the stores; no need get “piss off” with the lady that when steal your parking space; no need get frustrated with the long line at the cashier; no need get a new Xmas outfit for the party; no need to try and remember the people you met last Xmas; no need watch “Nutcracker” again; no need listen to Gene Autry sing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” again; say….maybe no need Xmas!
Hello Cat,
Christmas is a love/hate thing. I like it, but I don’t. It’s too commercialized, the malls are packed, can’t find parking, people are impatient, rude, too much pressure. Christmas has lost its real meaning.
Have to say if it wasnt for my kids who obviously love Christmas, I wouldnt celebrate it at all. Too much hassle, spending way too much unnecessary money and I agree its so commercialized with greed that I just cant tolerate it anymore. The best part of Christmas is taking the ornaments off the tree and throwing the tree away and not having to deal with it for another year.
Christmas has become less commercial and present-oriented in the past few years. One line I enjoy in the Jim Carrey Grinch movie, which we call “the Fuzzy Grinch”
in my household to distinguish it from the earlier, shorter cartoon taken directly from Seuss, is when he identifies the true meaning of Christmas as “vengeance!”
As far as having a positive spirit, no challenge there, as in both Grinch films: Christmas doesn’t come in a box. It’s in each of our hearts.
I think along with getting older the ‘meaning’ of Christmas gets lost. Yup, I remember looking forward to the 2 week school break, the colder weather, ‘cruising’ at the mall, watching presents fill up under the tree, Christmas music on the radio or playing on my Alpine cassette player, etc. Nowadays, it’s about TRAFFIC, finishing the Christmas shopping, TRAFFIC, bills on top of more bills, TRAFFIC!?!?!
It’s really not fair to our kids and unfortunately for me it actually takes an effort to ‘get in the mood’ and show the kids the true meaning! I like most of your comments above hope i can shake this holiday funk but it doesn’t help with all this TRAFFIC! 🙂 Merry Christmas
My wife, son and I just went on a trolley ride put on for the members at the Honolulu Country Club that goes through Downtown and and the Honolulu City Lights display and then gives us time to walk around City Hall and the Municipal grounds to see all of the displays. Here are a few of the things we noticed last night: Not as many buildings do the nice light displays any more. You used to see the some buildings do the alternating green and red lights on each floor at the very least. Even Aloha Tower Marketplace seemed not as decorated as before. I remember when the construction cranes would have their tops lighted up to look like a Christmas tree. Not one of the cranes we saw were even lighted. The City Lights area seems to be getting very commercialized. Leonard’s Malasadas was there along with someone selling pop corn and hot dogs. Booths for balloon creations and face painting. Lots of rides for the kids. The religiously themed displays were set in an area between City Hall and the archives building away from the road where you really couldn’t see them unless you were walking back there. The Kawaiahao Church did have some kind of outdoor performance going on that included a live manger seen which was kind of cool. To us it seems that all of the joy and wonder of the season at least in the displays and decorations we used to see even just a few years ago are gone and it is sad. Our son usually enjoys this kind of thing (he is 7) but even he did not find what was going on enjoyable. Maybe it is because everyone has been taking hits financially and so the first thing to go are the extras. But unfortunately those extras are what helps everyone to get through these trying times and put the cheer back in to this normally joyful season. . . Or as I get older and want our son to experience the things we did as kids am I just becoming a sentimental person.
This year I find that I feel as if I’m just going through the motions (mostly for the benefit of my preschool aged daughter) and putting pressure on myself to do everything you’re “supposed” to do for Christmas. Present buying is feeling like a panicked last minute activity and I’m stressing out about baking the expected Christmas cookies I make every year. I still listen and enjoy the holiday tunes, but I am not feeling the magic inside this year. It makes me kind of sad. The added stress of an extra busy time at work right up until my vacation starts and thinking about all of the preparation and cleaning I need to do to do for our Christmas dinner guests doesn’t help either. Here’s to hoping we find some of that magic again next year. Merry Christmas Cat!