Another Year

Once again, Christmas has descended upon the Biggest Little Town in the North. And, now that it's come and gone, I'm prepared to get something off my chest.

I'm tired of Christmas.

Have you ever been at a party, and someone asks you to tell you a joke? You stammer, on the spot, until you finally muster up some pathetic laugh you heard when you were in grade school. That's the way I feel when I hear the following words:

What do you want for Christmas?

I am a simple person, whose needs don't stretch past money to pay the rent, plus a little more to party, and metres upon metres of snow. I never know what to get anyone myself, and when I'M the one asking I tend to get the "You'll think of something', or 'Whatever you get me will be fine', or something along the lines that equate to "If you don't KNOW what I want, then you're a bad friend". Consequently, I was the stereotype on Christmas Eve at 4pm doing 90% of my shopping.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love how the "holiday season" makes everyone that little bit nicer for 2 weeks out of the year (ok, maybe living in a place where the Christmas lights are up for months extends that period by about a month or so). And I totally understand the gift giving philosophy - reciprocity forges and maintains bonds of friendship. But I didn't exactly sign in for Christmas, it just engulfed me before I had developed self-awareness and my own identity. Now in December, I have happy memories of childhood Christmases and seek a desire to have the holiday I remember every year. These huge, opulent gifts we now give, especially to the kids, makes us lose sight of what this holiday is all about: to the believers, the celebration of the birth of the Saviour, to non-believers, a chance to reconnect with the people we care about. In my opinion, taking the time to sit down for a drink and a chat with someone you haven't done so in a while is just as valuable as an Xbox, or a new sweater. It shows you're thinking of them on a deeper level, and the conversation proves that you are just as interested in their life as you hope they are in yours. Kind of like Valentine's Day; why reserve one day out of the year to show your love to the one person that doesn't want to break you down, when you can do it every single day you're happy with him/her?

Maybe, if people took this approach more often, throughout the year, the world would be just that little bit less shitty.

Maybe I'm just rambling.

By The Way: I am obsessed with Boardwalk Empire, the new drama from HBO... Do whatever you can to watch it.