This year, I am mostly becoming fucked off with the number of people slagging Christmas off.
It occurs to mention this tonight, having just begun the process of wishing people a Merry Christmas proper, as I left another marvellously pleasant evening with zoo_music_girl and childeric, as the first of my chums that I was sure I wasn’t going to see again before the holidays themselves. There are undoubtedly many of you that I’m not going to see before then, and of course I send you all the very best of wishes for the season, but this is the first time this year I’ve been out with someone and had that “Oh, no, won’t be seeing you before then, so Merry Christmas” sort of feeling.
And it’s nice.
But god knows there are a number of my friends who’ve taken to whining on about Christmas. How it’s shit because it’s part of a religion (on in cases of extreme cranial/rectal interface because it’s the christians “stealing” the celebration off older religions), or because of having to do horrible commercial things, or because they don’t like the people they’re forced to spend it with.
The last, I have a small amount of sympathy for. But only a very small amount. Most of my friends are adults, and it is presumably within their gift to say (possibly a little more tactfully) “No, I won’t be spending Christmas with you – I’d rather do something I’d like, instead.” There are a few for whom this does not apply, but only a few, and they have my every sympathy.
As for the rest of you, though: this is a season to enjoy the company of your friends and loved ones. And I’d bloody hope you can do it all year round, and yes, I suppose I have said similar things about Valentines Day and relationships, but I cannot see any reason to say that a holiday mandated on the theoretical basis that people should have a bit of time to celebrate with those dear to them is a shit thing. To go on about how you don’t like the season, or how crap you think it is tedious in the extreme.
If you’re complaining about having to shop, or about the people you’re spending it with, then that’s you own bloody fault for having bought into some of the extraneous and superficial hype. It’s not about commercial nonsense. If you’re about to tell me that the people you’re spending it with think it is, and thus you’ve got to do something in line with that, then I would suggest that you’re either spending it with the wrong people, or that you consider making them happy worth doing, and so going along with it is in the very best spirit of the season, but not simply for reasons of commerce.
Either way: I hope you all have a marvellous festive season, whether you choose to be festive or not.
[Note: if you don’t like the season, but haven’t been griping about it unsolicited in public, then this is not directed at you, so you don’t need to defend your views. Thank you.]
[Edit: I should note that I completely respect the idea of not celebrating at all at this time of year, and I’m not out to force it on anyone (except davebushe, as he’s clearly just some kind of freak), it’s the people who piss and moan about the season that annoy me, not those who just quietly ignore it, and leave others to their fun.]