I'm not against Christmas celebrations or anything like that, but sometimes I feel a little bit Bah Humbug.
I mean, what's the point of putting up the same old decorations year after year? Why do we continue to hang the same tired ornaments on a dead pine tree that we have put in our living rooms for a few weeks? Or worse yet, on a fake tree? Well, okay, I know one person whose son is allergic to pine; they're exempt.
I do love getting together with friends and family.
But really, you can do that any time of year.
I like all the lights at Christmas.
They are cheerful and happy.
But then, why not have them all year long? Environmental and cost issues aside, wouldn't it be wonderful? I know what you are going to say when I say that Christmas has become too commercial.
They have been saying that for years now.
But it is still true.
And this year, stores started putting out their Christmas wares and decorating for Christmas even earlier than in the past.
I find it all very annoying.
So maybe I am Bah Humbug.
If we feel like it, my husband and I exchange gifts on special occasions, but it's not a demand we make on each other or a given.
We gift each other throughout the year, when the mood strikes us.
We don't need a special occasion to say "I love you" with a present.
Actually, we don't even need a present.
I will admit that having no children probably makes me look at Christmas a little differently from people who do have children.
But then, I have to wonder what they are teaching their children about the meaning of Christmas.
To me Christmas is about hope, tolerance, kindness, peace and happiness.
It's about all that should be right with the world.
It shouldn't be about "I'll be happy when I have the newest _____.
" I also think that the Christmas spirit should be alive in every one of us all year long.
Not just at Christmas.
So, I get a little down at Christmas time because I know that the spirit isn't really very alive even now.
People are so stressed by all the extra demands placed on them during the holiday season that they lose sight of what's really important.
Tolerance and kindness fly out the window on the roads and in the check out lines.
Happiness (or is it relief?) comes at the end of it when it all works out just right, if it does, rather than from the doing.
As a wise person once said, "Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
" The only hope children seem to express is that they will get exactly what they asked for.
And their happiness is lots of presents beneath the tree.
So if these sentiments make me seem a bit Bah Humbug, well then so be it.
I realize that retailers rely on this time of year to meet their yearly sales goals.
But seriously, if we forget about the heavy gift giving during Christmas and spread it out over the year, it would be easier on the consumer's finances and the retailers would still make money.
Why wait until Christmas (or birthdays for that matter) to give a gift? Do you really need a reason? Why not just because you want to? What could it hurt? Maybe we should all try being a little bit Bah Humbug and see if it doesn't make things a little bit better.
Let's celebrate the real meaning of Christmas and not the one that retailers have conned us into believing.
Oh, and yes, I make my living from selling goods I produce and I have worked in retail for most of my life.
And, still, I have always kept the true Spirit of Christmas alive in my heart all year long.