Half and Half

Is there a holiday that possibly inspires more ambivalence than Christmas? Not for me. Half the time I hate it, the other half I think it's not so bad.

As with everything, how one does Christmas is completely personal and relative. One person's 'overdone' might seem like another's 'not enough' and someone who doesn't do anything for Christmas because of their religion or disdain for commercialism might be seen as sticks-in-the-mud.

I'll spare you my views on the validity of Christmas as a religious holiday, the calendrical accuracy of December 25th as the actual birth day of the baby Jesus or the true origins of Father Christmas and other argument-inducing matters regarding Christmas. Instead, I'll summarize my feelings about it simply:

Frantic shoppers, crowded malls and mountains of seemingly useless stuff that are purchased for Christmas: hate it.

Families who travel great distances to be together and reconnect: love it.

Families who use the time to fight and bicker and dredge up old grudges: hate it.

Small children opening a present and finding what they wished for inside: love it.

The incessant and bad Christmas music sound pollution that starts in late November: hate it.

The feeling I get when I hear good or funky Christmas music: love it.

Watching silly Christmas movies on Christmas Eve, just the two of us: love it.

Oops that's two loves in row. I'm slipping. Well, on that note...whichever half you err on is fine by me.

Best news today; the snow they predicted never came.