Christmas....

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....I hate this time of the year. I don't remember ever liking it. It is annoying, in your face, and leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I am a real life Grinch. Anyone else feel the same?

I just hate all the gift buying, so I am not buying anything except for canvases, paints and other art supplies so I can paint my whole family their gifts.

Christmases are usually low key events for me but this year the whole family is having a BBQ so I think I will hide with the little kids and watch The Lion King. I'm supposed to be an official photographer though so maybe I can hide behind my lens.

My family have a lot of social get togethers and this will be no different. I'm growing tired of them though.

It's my birthday after Christmas so I always have that to look forward to. Usually people are too tired to celebrate it with me.

Aw that sucks that people usually don't celebrate your b-day, that's BS! Giving paintings for gifts is an awesome idea.

My mum and sister usually take me out for lunch in a cafe but I've had so many meltdowns when we do that I'm vowing never to do it again. It's just after boxing day which means everything is on sale and the town is packed.

The only thing I want is to go to an Air Force museum or maybe the Blue Mountains.

I like decorating and baking and celebrating, but I'm always so worried about having the money to buy my kids gifts. I don't know what we will do this year. They are old enough for one nice gift each and maybe a stocking with candy and little things, but I don't know that we will have the money.

Frances

I too like baking and generally making special things to eat, that you only eat once a year. I also like the fact it's a dark time of year. And time off work is great. Family get togethers are exhausting but they only last a couple of says. Other than that time for lie ins, walks etc. Presents are not essential but I guess it's different with children as they expect stuff.

It might as well be National Be Nasty and Rude Month, and "Get Your Credit Cards Maxed so you can whine all springtime about the payments" season. I despise the whole Christmas season, although as a Christian by upbringing, I do appreciate the original spirit and meaning of it.

Charles

I hate Christmas and so does my aspieish dad. Both of us always get the nickname "Scrooge" or "Grinch" about this time of year. I hate it because every thing is changed and the whole world seems to stop for it. The only thing I ever really liked about Christmas was getting gifts, but I have my own source of income now so I can get the things I want any time.

I F***ing love this time of year, I understand that what our society has done to Christmas (max out credit cards, BUY ALL THE THINGS!, etc.) but I love the christmas lights reflected off of the new layer of pure white snow, I love the crackle of the fire in the fireplace. I love the candy, I enjoy the family gatherings, I love it so much that sometimes I will sleep in our living room just so I can be near the christmas tree. Granted our tree isn't up yet but still... Also we get time off of work and school, which is always good. Maybe I just love the snow and the time off, or maybe, to dig deeper, I love it when the city slows down. When it snowed heavily last year, the city slowed down to where you could barely hear a thing, and one of my fondest memories from last year was standing out in my snowy back yard at night staring at the stars as quiet church bells rang off in the distance, a moment of peace and beauty...oh god I am rambling now, I apologize for my rambling =D

I believe in the religious meaning and spirit of Christmas. Also I like Christmas carols.

Midnight Mass (i.e. Holy Communion starting at 11 PM Christmas Eve), a nativity creche,
and the Advent candles make Christmas almost bearable for me. That, and Linus's particularly
effective use of a passage from the Gospel according to Luke:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA[/youtube]

Video clip courtesy of YouTube, user wteach, and United Media Legal. All rights reserved.

I still call that passage from Luke, chapter 2, the "Linus lesson."

On the other hand, the commercialism surrounding the season, and especially Boxing Day sales....

Christmas used to seem to magical to me when I was a small child, just like it does for almost all children. I loved the Christmas plays we did at school, and the party games we played at school before breaking up for Christmas break, and exchanging Christmas cards and little presents to classmates, and going to the church to sing Christmas carols, and setting up the Christmas lights and other stuff, and that excitement you got on Christmas Eve, and having lots of toys on Christmas day, and going to see relatives on Boxing Day for dinner.....it just all seemed so magical.

Now nobody seems to have the Christmas spirit. It's gotten all too commercial, and shops seem to just use Christmas to make more money, and everybody in my family are grouchy miserable teenagers and young adults. Right now they've already got Christmas stuff in the shops and Christmas lights and tinsle everywhere, but my mind still seems to be in August.

There just seems to be something about christmas that brings out the best and the worst in everyone.

It also seems that whatever emotions you're feeling at the time are blown up and amplified in ways that can be difficult to handle. I've had the odd happy christmas and the time of year probably was a contributing factor, however if you're feeling down, then even the sound of christmas music can trigger dark thoughts.

My cousin lost her little girl in March and my family have all been dreading christmas, as it's always a time when people reflect on what they have lost and is rarely a time when people look ahead. In the western world we are totally force fed christmas and it is certainly a time most of us can do without!

I have a 6 year old boy who i only see two nights a week, so it's a time I get to see a little more of him and he's been counting the days since summer. I guess we have to remember that's what it's really all about.

I hate it. How do you tell your closest family members that you want to stop exchanging gift without offending them and/or making them think you don't love them anymore or some BS?? When someone figure it out, please let me now.

I used to absolutely hate Christmas when I was younger, I could never really put my finger on the reason why but these days it's just my daughter and me. We don't really do presents but we buy loads of dvd's, chocolates, drinks and I do us a nice dinner. I also get 10 days off work so I do look forward to that.