Bah, hambug!

It is official, I hate Christmas.

As a child I loved Christmas. I loved helping my Mom unpack all our Christmas decorations and carefully arrange them around the house. I loved listening to Christmas music, particularly the Muppet Christmas Album with John Denver. I loved watching the same Christmas movies year after year: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Scrooged, A Christmas Story, A Charlie Brown Christmas. And I loved the gift exchange; both the giving and receiving part.

That is gone, all gone now. I despise it and want nothing to do with it. Oh sure, I'll buy gifts for my family but instead of taking the time to carefully orchestrate some fantastic present they'll love, they're getting gift cards and booze.

As an aside, I love my family. This is the conversation I had with my brother yesterday:

ME:

Seriously, Steve and I don't want anything. Do you guys want stuff? Because we'll get you stuff if you want it, but I would prefer not to exchange gifts.

Wait, do you think that would upset Mom and Dad, if we rejected Christmas? Well, what would you guys want?

BROTHER:

Well, I was kind of thinking along the lines of booze.

ME:

Perfect. Steve and I like booze, therefore we will exchange gifts of booze. We will come over to your apartment after Christmas dinner, and we will drink the booze that we have exchanged.


I've tried, really I have, to get into the Christmas spirit but I can't. I've tried to watch the movies and listen to the music, but it doesn't stir one iota of feeling up in me other than that of disgust.

I'm not entirely sure where this hatred of Christmas has stemmed from on my part. It's partly because I've been really busy the last few months, so I almost feel like I don't have the time for it. I just want it to be over and done with. Another factor is the rampant consumerism. That is just not where my priorities are at this point in my life. Stuff does not make you happy. Well, some stuff like booze, and good food, and yarn can make you happy, but having the latest and greatest thing that every advertiser says you need to have does not a happy person make. Relationships with people, now that's where happiness comes from. I would much prefer to cook an awesome Christmas dinner for my family while having good, meaningful conversation than have any amount of gifts or money. I am just so beyond that and for that I am thankful. I guess the other part is that we're not religious, so the day itself really holds no meaning for me. The thing is, for even the people who claim they are religious, that's not what the day is about anymore either. Christmas makes people crazy. It puts all sorts of pressure on people, and before you know it your beating down some other parent for the last toy on the shelf. Where is the peace and joy and love in that?

The only thing good about Christmas will be seeing my friends and family that I don't get to see as often as I'd like. I just hate all this Christmas crap I have to put up with to get there. Really, I just want these last 10 days to go quickly so that every thing can get back to normal. I like my world surly, thank you very much.

Winter wonderland

Things I would like to do this weekend:

• Sled at Elver Park
• Make a snowman
• Have a snowball fight
• Drink hot cocoa by a warm fire
• Traipse around a Christmas tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree
• Decorate Christmas tree with all my childhood ornaments
• Snowshoe at Blue Mound
• Cross country ski at Governor Dodge
• Catch up on some sleep
  

Things I will actually do this weekend:

• Volunteer for 8 hours at the Rape Crisis Center
• Write a paper and a PowerPoint presentation on rape for my Women in Society final
• Sit on my fat ass watching TV inside the warm house because it will be too cold and I will be too tired to do any of the aforementioned outdoor winter activities
• Get drunk and pick fights with people

Jolly old Saint Nicholas

Tonight is the night that good old St. Nick delivers the goods to kids. I was having a discussion with Steven last night about St. Nick's Day. He came from a very strict Catholic family who didn't really do anything fun. I thought since St. Nick has to do with a Saint, maybe his family would have celebrated it. Of course not. They were far too busy saying the rosary and doing a bunch of Hail Marys. When I explained to him what it was, he said, "Were you the kind of family that got PRESENTS for Easter?" He said it with such disdain that I just burst out laughing. Of course we got presents for Easter! We sure weren't religious, but we did love our presents.

For those of you that don't know, this is what Wikipedia has to say about St. Nick:

While feasts of Saint Nicholas are not observed nationally, cities with strong German influences like Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and St. Louis celebrate St. Nick's Day on a scale similar to the German custom. On the previous night, children put one empty shoe (or sock) outside, and, on the following morning of December 6, the children awake to find that St. Nick has filled their previously empty footwear with candy and small presents (if the children have been "good") or ostensibly, coal (if not). For these children, the relationship between St. Nick and Santa Claus is not clearly defined, although St. Nick is usually explained to be a helper of Santa. The tradition of St. Nick's Day is firmly established in the Milwaukee community, with parents often continuing to observe the day with even their adult children.

Since my parents were born and raised in Milwaukee, and we lived there until I was 8, it really is no surprise that we always celebrated St. Nick's. Wikipedia is totally accurate too because my Mom continued to fill my stocking even after I moved out of the house. Also, I think my parents secretly relished the fact that they could threaten us with coal in our stockings when we were younger if we were behaving badly. There's nothing like the threat of coal to get you to act right.

Happy St. Nick's Day!

Ireland in pictures