So, I've been called a scrooge a few times over the past couple weeks, for a variety of reasons. I don't like to decorate for Christmas. It's just a bunch of stuff you have to take out, put up, dust, and then put away again; I don't see the point. I don't like Christmas music. The same songs get repeated over and over and over (and over) and it makes me want to punch cute things, like puppies and babies. I don't like feeling like a heel because I can't buy people the expensive gifts I think they deserve. (And all the lovely people in my life deserve the most lavish and elaborate presents you can imagine!) I can't stand the abbreviation "Xmas", or worse "xmas". (I mean, really, are the extra four letters so very hard to type?) I don't like going to the mall; people are angry and make me angry and I don't like feeling that way.
But all of these reasons are superficial. And some of them aren't even accurate. I like the look of a decorated house, it's why I spend so much time at my parents' or friends' houses this time of year. And I secretly like Christmas music...well it's okay for a day or two right around Christmas, and some of those songs really ARE catchy.
But the real reason I hate Christmas, is that it tells people to be nice to each other.
I try to be nice to people all year. I like to buy presents for people all year. I carry joy in my heart all year. And I hate that society only makes a big deal out of it for approximately three weeks in December. We buy a tree and decorate it with lights and glass balls and buy things that we don't really need to put under it. We spend more time with our family and friends and have more fun, because it's "the holidays".
And I'm not saying that it isn't awesome to do that stuff with a vengence sometimes, it feels good. But that quiet happy-ness you get when you do something nice for somebody who needs something nice to happen can be found everywhere, all the time. I say, why not live like that all year 'round? Why not live more, laugh more and love more during the other eleven months of the year? We all certainly have something to be grateful for everyday. We certainly have somebody (or many somebodies) to love and be loved by. So why limit your joy?
I say, treat every day like Christmas. Spread Christmas cheer everyday of the year! It's not hard, it can be something as small as smiling at the guy making your coffee or holding the door for someone. Be nice to someone everyday. Donate food to food banks everyday. Laugh with your family and friends as often as possible and don't do it because it's a particular time of year. Do it because you have love and you want to share it.
Joy to the World!
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