Do you actually *LIKE* Christmas?
Me: No, I do not. It's inconvenient. It's shallow. I just consider it to be a major pain in the arse, and always look forward to afterward. The passing of Christmas means spring is around the corner, not unlike the Super Bowl signifying that football is finally done and Spring Training is just a few weeks away.
Now, I will happily take paid vacation days. I may be a grump, but I'm not dumb. :lol:
I don't have any strong feelings about the holiday itself, same as I feel about most other holidays.
Left to my own devices, I don't usually do holiday stuff. Hell, some years I've damn near forgotten my own birthday. I also generally get annoyed by overly elaborate holiday stuff. Don't really see the point -- I try to just be nice to people every day, and if I'm gonna get someone a gift, I'm not going to wait until an approved day to give it to them. I also sort of resent the concept of compulsory gifts.
I live with a friend who just loves all things "holiday." As you can imagine, I'm getting dragged around a lot and will be later today as well. :lol:
But there is one thing unique to Christmas that makes me a little more disposed to it than most holidays.
When I was a traveler, I always knew when it was Christmas whether I was paying attention to the calendar or not. Because everyone I knew would suddenly leave town. For those few years, Christmas was associating with being alone for the day -- even in the streets. When everyone you know and have physical access to is relatively new to your life, you're never on the list of people they see during the holidays.
Other travelers sometimes get together to do dinner and have bittersweet tears about their missing loved ones. I'd been to a couple of those. But inevitably, it had the air of something we did for solidarity in our homesickness.
It meant more to get to do the holidays with my dad again, even though usually all we did was eat pizza and trade gag gifts.
It's taken on more meaning still since I've lost the entirety of my genetic family.
I've been "adopted" by several little clans and families since then. And it's not so much that I care more about holidays. What it is, is that people want to include me.
I'm not the easiest person to include. I take my time getting close to people and, as I said, I'm not a big holiday-doer. I am neither prone to pretending I'm closer to someone than I am, nor do I like to insert myself into other people's clans. Cattish, some consider me.
So I'm still not a big holiday-doer. I don't do pomp and circumstance, and I'd still forget if someone didn't remind me.
But it warms the cockles of my cold little heart that I get invited to so many things on the holidays. Hell, even not on the holidays, but the density of how often it happens is certainly much higher around this time of year. Seeing people being kind to each other with no motive or obligation is sweet.
And maybe, in theory, that's what the holidays are supposed to actually be about. Sure, it doesn't actually matter whether it happens on December 25th or August 12th, but, well... it doesn't mean any less if it happens on December 25th either.
It's easy to forget that when seeing Aunt Sue and enduring her terrible turkey is just a thing you've always done, like doing the laundry. It's easy to forget when it's full of expectation that you need to get a gift for that second cousin you met once at a wedding 10 years ago. But when none of it's routine and nothing is expected except having a good time, it's different.
You don't forget so easy when people have to go out of their way to bring you in.
In some ways, being the young adult orphan really teaches you a lot about how good humanity can be and gives you a reason why you should be a nice person too.
