Christmas Spirit

Hello and Merry Christmas to all. I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying that. I say that because the spirit of the holiday season has escaped us all. It use to be that neighborhoods would decorate for Christmas, people would wish each other Merry Christmas in passing, and the spirit of the season would shine though. Here we are, less than 5 days away from Christmas, and it might as well be March. There is no Christmas spirit anymore. It has been sucked away and replaced by nothingness.


Why is it that we have “events” such as “Black Friday” designed to herald in the Christmas season, so heavily advertised in the papers, exploited by every merchant, and bastardized to simply turn a profit for the stores; and yet I could get in trouble for wishing someone a Merry Christmas? It seems like if you are in it to make a buck, you are allowed to exploit the “feeling” of Christmas. But if you are generally moved to wish someone a good one, then you face the danger of confrontation.

And it isn’t just the whole silencing of Christmas wishes to another that has reduced a once joyous time of the year, when people acted half way decent to one another, to a mere date on a calendar. It is the societal perception of Christmas. People become greedy, frustrated, withdrawn husks of human emotion whose drive in this time of year is to find the best bargain instead of focusing their energies on spreading good will and cheer. And unfortunately, it seems to be more and more the case that people are in it simply for themselves. The mentality now is if you buy someone a present, you expect that person to buy you an equally good gift. Come Christmas day, you open your gift and, instead of being moved by the fact that that person loves you enough to want to give you a small token of appreciation, you judge whether or not this person will be worth your time and money next year.

Just go to any department store or mall and look around at your fellow man and you will find sad, lonely, wretches scouring the shelves for the specific item that their relations and friends asked for. There is, no longer, the spark of Christmas cheer inspiring an individual to find a gift for their intended simply by the memory of the person they are shopping for. Gift giving, in it’s most basic form, is a way of demonstrating to another that you appreciate them and love them enough that you wanted to find them the perfect symbol of respect for all they do for you throughout the year. The sour Christmas mood has tainted this once selfless act and transformed it into an obligation.

In general, when I give a gift, it is usually something that I thought about. I think about what I know about the person, what I think that they do and don’t like, what sort of niche in their life I can fill, and then make my purchase. Sometimes the people love it and sometimes they don’t, but I know that I tried my best and hopefully that person recognizes the thought and message behind the gift. I don’t worry myself about whether the person will like the specific gift or not because I know that, even in this impersonal age we are living in, it is still the thought that counts. And that is the same reason that I don’t just take the easy way out and buy a gift card for everyone on my list. If they don’t like what I got them, then they can use the convenient gift receipt I include, go to the store, and return it for something else. There is, of course, the few exception, but in the interest of keeping this from getting too long, I will not go into specifics.

I have, out of sheer curiosity, asked a large number of people what is the one thing that they despise during Christmas and an overwhelming majority have cited the act of shopping for gifts as the most distasteful part. It isn’t because they don’t want to spend money; it is because they don’t like the lines, the pressure, the crowds, or (and this shocked me the most considering the time of year it is) the hype. When asked to clarify, these people told me that they find the holiday music annoying, the decorations distracting and gaudy, and the smiles received from the merchants selling them the wares as fake and tacky. Basically, most of the people I asked find that shopping and all the trimmings that go with it including the attempts to bring some semblance of holiday cheer, the worst parts of the Christmas season. Yet they suffer thorough it out of obligation instead of passion.

I want to feel joyful during this most celebrated month of the calendar, and yet that joy is getting harder and harder to find each year. So here I am, proudly wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, and doing so without fear of consequences. I hope you all find your personal joy this season and manage to dig deep and discover what Christmas really means to you.