Bah, humbug!

You know it is the festive period when you see buildings putting up their Christmas lights, the shopping centres are playing "Jingle Bells" and "Silent Night" over and over again to drive most people mad, especially the store employees, and everybody is starting to think about buying Christmas presents.

I don't like to come across as a Silas Marner or an Ebenezer Scrooge but I particularly don't like how Christmas has become. I abhor how companies and business have commercialized this holiday so they make more money from witless saps like you and me. I don't like how society portray people who don't celebrate Christmas as lonely miserable bastards who order pizza on Christmas Day and spend the day with their dog sitting in front of the TV watching the entire series of '24' in one sitting. It seems you have to put Christmas lights up in front of your house and you have to outdo your neighbour. It seem so competitive when you have to announce to your colleagues how high your Christmas tree is this year. I found it bemusing when people greet the arrival of the festive season as though it is a lifetime experience, photographing every single Christmas display and every single Christmas tree in the malls as though they will never return. Yes I have turned into Ebenezer Scrooge.

I really should come at this from a religious point of view. Christmas is a Christian holiday so it should only be celebrated by Protestants, Catholics and so on. What right do non-religious people have to celebrate this holiday. At least the Jews celebrate Hanukkah and the Muslims have Ramadan at this time of year, so they celebrate their own holiday appropriately. Yet we have a large section of the population who say they are Christian but are really not or they are atheist but still go out to buy presents for other people and put up Christmas decorations. What I am essentially saying is if you are not a Christian, you shouldn't be celebrating Christmas. I don't mind you taking the day off, since it has been decreed a public holiday but you should be doing the stuff associated with the special day. If you are going to celebrate Christmas, I think you have to go to church and remember why we celebrate Christmas. I don't think many people can do that.

My attitude towards how people celebrate Christmas extends to other 'holidays' as well. Why have a Mothers' Day and a Fathers' Day when you should be loving your parents all year round? Why have a Valentine's Day at all. People who celebrate this lovers' day are just saps as they buy ridiculously priced roses which will die in a few days.

I'm quite ambivalent when concerning Remembrance Day (or Memorial Day and Veterans' Day in USA). We should be celebrating those who have fallen every single day of our lives but we don't. Soldiers have a bad rap since they are always portrayed as senseless killing machines. Yet they are like you and me - they do their jobs and are usually directed by senseless superiors who have no idea what they tasks truly entail. I think this is one holiday I want to keep and celebrated more.

So please, if you are not a Christian don't bother sending me presents or Christmas cards. Should you be staying in touch with me all year round?