A few years ago I read a book by John Grisham which was a good diversion from his heavy legal bound usual writings, Skipping Christmas. In a good way that book made me cringe. Why? Because I suspect that we have all been there at Christmas time. The stress of the planning, the cost of it all. So as we have all thought at times, the characters in this book decide to escape and instead of spending all their hard earned money on gifts and food they want to escape on a cruise. The cringe moments come when the whole street is decorating their houses and theirs is the only one without so much as a bit of tinsel. It is typical of how we are always looking at what the neighbours are doing and what they will think if we don’t celebrate Christmas the traditional way. The pressure is piled on to them to conform and as the stress levels increase, the scenes become more hilarious. All in all an enjoyable book.
I have been thinking about this possibility every year since. And every year I feel like a modern Scrooge. But my point is that the older I get the more I realize that the true spirit of Christmas is dead and buried. How many kids (not to mention adults) around the world know why we are celebrating Christmas, what is its real meaning? Very few. And how much do we really do for fun and enthusiasm or just because we are supposed to go along with it? I wish I could be strong enough and say no, this year there is no usual Christmas, we send the money for presents to Oxfam or Unicef, we eat what we usually eat all over the year and we don't get stuffed with turkey, chocolate, booze watching Coronation Street Christmas special....But I know it won't be like that. I’m weak and tired and on my own on this …and I will succumb to it again and again…Humbug!
