Bah Humbug!

I’m not sure why, but this year I have a distaste for all things Christmas.

I haven’t given it a lot of thought, but I suspect there are a couple of causes. Christmas starts earlier and earlier and earlier every year. Some radio stations begin playing Christmas music in October. I have seen Christmas displays in local stores as early as August. Businesses start airing Christmas-themed commercials earlier every year. Even if they aren’t overtly promoting wares for Christmas, they are clearly Christmas-themed. The only time of year I ever see commercials for jewelry stores or people surprising their significant others with SUVs, luxury cars, perfume or aftershave or my favorite, Chia Pets, is the Christmas holidays.

And of course the nonprofits began their high-pressure begging for money earlier in the year as well. I don’t know how many 'year end fund appeals' I have received in the mail so far. I donate a lot to a variety of charities throughout the year, not just at Christmas. The need is year-round, so that's when I donate. I try to make a donation to one charity every month.

Everything about Christmas these days is so commercialized. It’s all about buying lots of gifts, whether people can afford them. I have written previously about the search for “the perfect gift.” How much money people spend on Christmas is, of course, none of my business. People will do what people will do. But I’m tired of the constant pressure to get people to buy, buy, buy.

Christmas is great for kids. They are so excited to get a visit from Santa, and to wake up extra early on Christmas day to discover their gifts under the tree. But for adults, the holidays can be a time of great stress, financial and otherwise. And the expectations are so high. Unlike the happy, laughing families depicted in ads and commercials, many families simply are not like that. Maybe they are missing loved ones, or just maybe the families are dysfunction. But the expectation is there for a perfect family gathering, complete with piles of gifts and tables laden with food.

The whole thing seems so hypocritical. Christmas began as a celebration of the birth of the Christian savior. It has become a race to get the best deal or to snag this year's must-have gift. 

I used to do a lot of baking for Christmas, everything from several kinds of cookies to a 3-pound batch of fudge. Then when I retired and didn't have anyone with whom to share the goodies -- and the calories -- I cut back on the number of cooky types I baked. My daughter doesn't care for fudge, so I stopped making it. The last couple of years I did no holiday baking at all.

I also have stopped decorating my house for Christmas. I gave my big artificial tree to a local domestic violence shelter, along with a couple bags of ornaments and several strings of lights. 

I have close to 50 Christmas CDs, which I always enjoyed listening to. This year I have no desire to listen to holiday music.

So I guess the Grinch has taken over my house this year.

I would like to see more emphasis on the act of giving to others in ways that don't cause financial strain on families, and that take us closer to what the holidays were originally meant to be. And not everyone celebrates Christmas. It is, after all, a Christian holiday. People of other religions -- Jews, Hindus, Muslims and others -- must feel totally awash. I mean, how often do you see commercials advertising 'the perfect gift' for a Jewish person during Hanukkah? 

I was in Costa Rica several years ago just before Christmas. The mall I visited was not awash with decorated trees, huge 'sale' signs and Santa Claus representations. My hotel had a single indication that it was almost Christmas -- a Nativity scene. We had dinner one night at the home of a local family, who house had a couple of religious scenes and a tree set up, but nothing more.

How about we get back to treating the December holidays as a time to celebrate by being kind and generous?