Fallon Deatherage-Bradley

News Editor

I’m a Scrooge. I’m a Grinch. Maybe I’m a terrible person, but I hate Christmas.

I’m not sure when it all started. Did it start at 2-years old when I caught my dad putting presents under the tree and realized that Santa wasn’t real? When did Christmas cease to be a magical time? While watching It’s a Wonderful Life, when did I start identifying more with the villainous Mr. Potter than the loveable George Bailey?

I love the idea of Christmas. The most wonderful time of the year where there’s peace on Earth. A time where you contemplate what’s really important, and you surround yourself with the people you love. But that’s rarely the reality.

It all boils down to one thing: money. Christmas is a holiday that centers around money. The obnoxious music all meant to put you in a spending frenzy. It’s an entire season of buying, and you can’t avoid it. Believe me, I’ve tried. There’s so many expectations that you just can’t get away from. Maybe if we got rid of gifting, the expectations would go away. The number one thing I hate about Christmas is gifting.

I’m not an ungenerous person. The feeling in your heart when you’re moved to give is amazing, but I don’t feel that during Christmas. Giving is an obligation and the expectations are high. Your love for a person is measured by the elaborateness of what you give them for Christmas. On top of that, it’s a competition. Your gifts to people must be better than someone else’s gifts. You “win” Christmas by giving the best and most elaborate gifts. Christmas would be greatly improved if we got rid of the gifting tradition altogether and instead took it as an opportunity to express our true feelings to the people we love.

As a side note to the point about gifting. The EPA estimates that U.S. household garbage increases by one million tons during the holiday season. Now I don’t consider myself a radical tree hugger and I know the reusable straws I got probably don’t even make a dent in the amount of trash I create, but even I know we all gotta live on this planet for a long time to come. I’m not demanding you use only biodegradable wrapping paper, but it’s something to think about.

Money and expectations make it impossible for Christmas to be a time of peace and goodwill. We don’t need retail excess to spread joy.

It’s surprising when I hear people who spend the holidays with family they can’t stand. They travelled out of their way to spend the holiday fighting with people. They travelled because it’s Christmas and you have to travel to be with your family on Christmas even if it means being miserable. Life is short. You’re not obligated to be miserable because society demands you spend time with people who make you miserable just because it’s Christmas. This point doesn’t apply to a lot of people, and if you’re someone like me who loves spending time with your family that’s great.

My Christmas inspiration is my dad. Once, not long after giving birth, my sister-in-law asked my dad what he wanted for Christmas. He said diapers for his new grandbaby. He insists that family not brave dangerous roads to visit just because it’s the holiday. He tends to forego Christmas gifts in favor of giving all year long. His love is not measured by Christmas spending.

This year I’m boycotting commercialized Christmas. I’m surrounding myself with people I love and who love me. I’m staying away from the retail rat race. I’m going to tell the people in my life how much they mean to me. I’m going to stay away from drama and the competition to have the most holiday spirit. I’m going to find ways to help my fellow humans. I’m going to spread goodwill and joy. Maybe after doing all this I’ll learn to love Christmas again.