I am a summer person…..there’s no doubt in my mind about that….there’s never been a documented medical case of someone breaking their back from shoveling humidity, and there’s nothing better than watching the sunset at 9pm on a warm June evening.
This is my least favorite time of the year – it’s grey, cloudy, wind chill is in the air, and it’s dark at 4:30 (4-FUCKING-30!!). Although I’m not diagnosed with seasonal depression, I’m sure I’ll feel that way when I step in a slush puddle by accident come January.
As a kid, I couldn’t wait for the holidays, as I started my Christmas list in September, and I had Halloween and Thanksgiving to look forward to before the holiday season began. The holiday season now starts before Halloween – do we really need to hear Christmas music on Sirius XM while watching the baseball playoffs, its still 75 degrees, and it’s still Daylight Savings Time? For me (and America back in the day), the holiday season starts as soon as I see Santa Claus arrive at Herald Square at the end of the Macy’s Day Parade….holiday commercials used to never air until Thanksgiving afternoon….now the season can’t start quickly enough once the Halloween costumes come off. And holy crap, there should be a law that Charlie Brown Christmas and Frosty the Snowman cannot be shown until at least December 15th!!
I get that retailers are trying to stay afloat (thank you, Amazon), but the holiday season is now almost as “monetary” as Valentine’s Day (thank you, Hallmark). Jesus received gold, frankincense and myrrh…yet there’s a feeling like we’ll let our kids down if they don’t receive an iPhone 11, Playstation 5, and a $100 gift card to Hollister.
My big pet peeve is the need for people to correct others for their holiday greetings….how has something so simple become so convoluted? It’s pretty basic – there’s more than one religious holiday in December, so saying “Happy Holidays” is not a slap in the face to Jesus…it’s a way of recognizing all religious holidays in December. (Is there an XIth Commandment that says “Thou shalt only recognize Christmas, and be judgmental towards anyone of a different religion who believes otherwise?” Did I miss a memo?)
Between the Day after Thanksgiving and January 2nd, I have four days that I especially look forward to – Jenn’s birthday, Katy’s birthday, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (spending both with family and friends)…as a society I hope that we can eventually get back to the holidays being more about friends, family, happiness and re-connection, and not as much about Cyber Monday, Black Friday (and the idiots who camp out starting on the Monday before Thanksgiving….that’s just pathetic), and how many gifts we buy and receive…this would make the holiday season much more enjoyable across the board…..winter will still suck for me until March, but thank God for warm-weather cruises for starting off the New Year!
How soon until we turn the clocks ahead?
Lane's Back Nine - my online diary as a 50-year old 