Christmas Spirit

I don't really have any. I find the whole performance shallow & superficial, time & money wasting.

I do not want to spend my time shopping for gifts for people, young or old, when they already seem to me to have everything their hearts could desire and more. I suppose the good thing is that charity shops probably do well out of unwanted gifts after the event. Or the gift will go into the "present drawer" for some other unsuspecting recipient on another occasion. You just need to remember who gave it to you so you don't give it them back!

I don't want to receive any more "stuff" either. If I want something I want to be able to chose it for myself, not have someone buy something in the mistaken belief I will like it or it will suit me. My life is paved with Christmases & birthdays I've looked forward to with eager anticitaption, only to have to pretend to be overjoyed with the gift so I don't spoil it for the giver.

I don't want to spend my time, which is diminishing on this earth, writing cards to people I communicate with on a regular basis in one form or another. I much prefer to say my good wishes face to face. I now send e greetings & give the money saved for cards & stamps to a new charity direct debit every year. The rolling programme continues year after year so the charities continue to benefit. I'm also pleased that I'm not contributing to deforestation. Interestingly, when I announced that I would no longer be sending cards, my reasoning wasn't universally understood or accepted. It was nearly the end of one friendship.

Similarly I don't enjoy the time wasting process of wrapping gifts & am frankly no good at it at all. However I do enjoy seeing the excitement of children opening parcels, so they are the only ones I continue to buy for. I tend to buy smaller, less expensive presents or contribute to a big present with their parents in the belief that the children I know already have vast quantities of things to amuse them.

Then there is the shopping. I simply don't understand why anyone would want to spend time searching fruitlessly for the perfect gift in over hot & crowded stores, being entertained by the worst mindless & loud music. I don't go "shopping" very often anyway & when I do I rapidly come to the conclusion that there is nothing that I want that is worth the very real pain.

There is also the food. Recipe searching, menu planning, food shopping & searching for obscure ingredients. The cooking starts at least a month in advance if you want quality home made as opposed to overpriced, less delicious,shop bought. The stress of mass catering on the 3 days of Christmas can & does lead to real family dischord. Not to mention the dreadful bloated, over stuffed, feeling after too much food. The only thing you can say about drink is that it probably gets you through everything else if you have enough of it. 

Go into any garden centre & you will  be overwhelmed with Christmas decorations. Some people must buy new every year! It is an art form from the decidedly kitch to the really "less is more" tasteful. I simply can't be bothered. There is enough everywhere I go - I don't need it at home as well.

I won't dwell on family & friends, but there are a lot of ill and lonely people out there for whom Christmas is just another day to get through. They are not supported by anyone & certainly couldn't be said to enjoy their lives. Many families too try to keep up the charade of getting on when in fact there is a divide between them.

The whole thing is a mirage. A confidence trick of expectation over reality. It is supposed to be the season of joy. For who? For the fortunate who have the cash & the home & the loving friends and family. Our values are totally skewed. We are blinded by rampant consumerism to believe that this is what it is all about.

We should wake up & get back to something more meaningful. I'm not religious, so don't believe in the Virgin birth or that Jesus was the Son of God. But I do believe that we are living in a decadent society which has lost it's way & is in the throes of destroying itself. We need to wake up to reality.