Humbug?

My aversion to Christmas has been well documented in years gone by, earning me titles such as "The Least Christmassy Person EVER" and the like. In many respects its totally justified. It takes me forever to get into it, if at all. Often I'm looking forward to the next event - New Year (which I get inordinately overexcited by). Christmas becomes "the bit before" New Year.

There are many reasons why I get blase or plain dour about it. I remember being quite serious about wanting to change Christmas til June with my own "June's for Jesus" campaign. Didn't get anywhere with it, cos JVE laughed at me. A lot.

Its not the whole 'its all become too comercialised' thing , yada yada argument, even though that may be true. I'm not that noble, though I totally dig the whole Oxfam Unwrapped stuff

Its not so much that we've forgotten the reason for the season bit. Though I do think sometimes that I'd be a bit peeved on my birthday if all the presents were for someone else. Its a bit like saying what do I get for the person who has everything? Er nothing, let's just say what I want on a big list and buy stuff for everyone else instead!

And I'm really not interested in whether it was originally a pagan festival that was Christianised and all that jazz cos when you are eating your dinner and getting your pressies, no one really cares do they?

I think that the reason I get dour about it is the sheer hassle. It was always hassle. The presents, the organising, the who to buy for and all that business. The going shopping when everyone is at their most stressed and desparate. Goodwill is out of stock when it comes to Christmas shopping. I worked at Sainsbury's one Christmas Eve in Putney, London and all these posh women got into fights. Someone actually threw a trolley at someone else! M& S in Sheffield was no better either, lots of catfights over salmon and chestnut stuffing. People playing "Baggsie that turkey" cos "I saw it first". I mean, please.

And then there are the decorations. Why people, why? When we were growing up we had this "angel" on the top of the tree that was so ugly she could have been from a horror movie. Yet I am sure I loved the thing, until I made one at school and subjected the family to that for the next few years.
So I move to America where people DO decorations. And on my street there are inflatable snowmen (that's right, inflatable - you gotta make do in the desert) , motorized reindeer that lower their head into a blue stream made of lights (I do like lights, but surely there are limits on these things?).A local shopping mall has snow brought in for children (and their over enthusiastic parents, ahem) to play in. I kid you not.Call it desert fever. And everywhere, every mall, every grocery store, there are enough Santas to make a nationality out of them.

Then people wear Christmas clothes. A friend at church wearing a Christmas sweater turned to someone and said -" I can only wear these clothes when Jo is not here. She doesn't let me." Too right. You don't wear clothes with trees, baubles and bells and lights on. EVER.

I know I sound terrible. And though I don't buy Christmas cards (after reading the above do you need an explanation?), I do buy pressies and we even had lights this year. Obviously I will always eat Christmas Dinner. But spare a thought for the fact that now I have a child - I will never get away with this again. From now on its Santa's grotto, Christmas trees and grotty angels, decorations, cards, big events - for the rest of my life. And with a smile on my face!

But Christmas clothing? There I draw a line. That is taking it all WAY too far.