I know I may have given the impression that I am a grouch who doesn't like anything (save one play I saw over a year ago), but although I may come off as something of a Scrooge, when it comes to Christmas, I am essentially the anti-Scrooge.
I love Christmas. I love how the streets are so busy (something that is even more noticeable now that I live near a big city), I love the food, I love the warm feeling you get going into a shop or stepping into your home after walking outside in the bitter cold, I love wrapping up in coats, scarves and gloves, I love the snow, I love the Christmas trees and their smell, I love how I can go home and visit my family, having been away for so long now, I love the annoying Christmas songs, I love the blinding, obnoxious lights and cheesy decorations, I love carol services, I love going to church on Christmas day, I love having chocolate for breakfast, I love starting drinking as early as ten o'clock in the morning, I even don't especially mind how Christmas has become commercialised.
I. Love. Christmas.
I wish I had something profound, philosophical or intellectually stimulating to say, but I don't. I just wanted to share my love for Christmas and encourage everyone else to enjoy this holiday. I want you all to do something that is traditional to you: visit your grandma, buy some Christmas presents, wander into a carol service, give your significant other a kiss under the mistletoe, watch Home Alone, The Snowman, The Muppets Christmas Carol or Die Hard, stroll through a snow-covered park, eat a mince pie. In my opinion, Christmas isn't a time to be angry about what you don't like, it's about enjoying what you do like.
Of course, if you don't celebrate Christmas, that's not a problem. Have a happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever it is you celebrate during this time, and if you don't celebrate anything, there's nothing that says you can't simply enjoy the month of December.
Merry Christmas.
