It's All About Christmas

I should be studying, but I don't feel like at the moment. So I'll blog. Or attempt to, at least, following the recent debacle where I wrote about nothingness.

Indeed, not much - if anything at all - has happened since then, but the clock continues ticking down towards Christmas. I need it to tick down a wee bit faster though, I'm really looking forward to the holidays so that I can, well, study even more, I guess; but without the added stress of having to go to University every day.

I'm no fan of Christmas. Far from it, actually, I think it's one of the most overrated times of the year; and indeed, sometimes the only reason why I really do embrace it is to wind down a little bit and be slightly less stressed out than usual. I understand and fully appreciate that within the Church, it is possibly the second most important feast after Easter (or maybe even on a par with it), and that with the birth of Jesus, there should be the subsequent rebirth of joy in our lives, but Christmas has long lost its true, significant meaning. Christmas has become, over the years, a commercialised scam. Of course, this is not the only reason why I don't like Christmas much, there are other reasons which I will not delve into. But this is among the main ones.

Christmas is no longer, unfortunately, a time of joy and peace, but a time of giving and receiving presents (be them wanted or unwanted), a time of political discussions at family lunches, a time of 'reuniting' with family members who you haven't seen since the previous Christmas and probably won't see until the next one. Perhaps these situations are a generalisation of sorts, but hasn't anyone ever felt this way before? It has become very much artificial, in many circumstances, and as time goes by, one tends to wonder whether the true meaning of Christmas will indeed ever be recuperated. Don't get me wrong though on the above point. Realistically, I think giving is one of the best things about Christmas, and at least, it is something that is being passed on from generation to generation without any qualms.

Perhaps, ultimately, I'm seeing everything a bit too pessimistically, but having reached an age where my brain thinks for itself and is not strongly influenced by the views of others, unless they are unilaterally correct and I hence agree with them in totality, I struggle to see where this realistic joy, peace and love emerges from over this period. Perhaps my viewpoints, in all fairness, will change when (if) I'm happily married and have children, but till then, I can only see it as another 'event' in my calendar.

God Bless You all,
Matti