I Need a Little Christmas
When you're a grad student, you tend to block a lot of things out. Oh, I still keep up with current events and I know what's going on in the world (even if I can't get on here as often to write about it), but it's tough to do much else when you're constantly preoccupied with deadlines.
Suffice to say, I haven't paid much attention to the fact that it is indeed the Christmas season. The shopping is not coming along as quickly as I would like, and the panic that I should be feeling since it's only 11 shopping days until Christmas? Not feeling it. Maybe it's the lack of snow here in Philadelphia... yeah, I know I have a severe dislike of snow but this is the only time of year when I'll accept it because it makes me feel festive. We had an end-of-semester party the other night, and although the host's house had the halls decked and the tree trimmed and some jazzy Christmas music playing... it was not a Christmas party to me.
I'm seriously not trying to be Scrooge here, I like Christmas and my lack of spirit should not be confused for not liking the the holiday season. The recession has much to do with it. I certainly can't spend on others the way I would like. I'm also just plain exhausted, which is understandable after an intense 14-week first semester of Ph.D stuff. I will soon be going home for the semester break, which I think is when my excitement will kick in. For one thing, it's MUCH more likely that I will see snow, because, well, it's Syracuse. And when I have been out in the lights and regalia of the season, I HAVE felt festive. The lights outside the apartment complex are nice to look at when coming home at night. Walking through Center City and seeing the hustle and bustle (while wishing I had a couple minutes to stop into a store or two to get the aforementioned shopping done) is a thrill. It's the first time I've been in a big city at Christmas time since going to NYC in high school. I've even rediscovered my taste for egg nog. I kinda laid off on the stuff the last couple years... maybe just had a bad batch or something. I like mine WITHOUT the rum, by the way... if I want to get drunk I know plenty of other ways to do it.
I'm also quite peeved at another pathetic attempt to declare war on other winter holidays. Yeah, you read that right. The "War on Christmas" is not what it says it is, it's an attempt by Bible-thumpers to remind us that Christmas reigns supreme over all other winter holidays because we all should be Christians... or else we're going to hell. This year, they went after the Gap, because after doing the Happy HanuRamaChristmaKwanzakkah deal last year (which they swiped from me, by the way... we did something similar on the radio back in my Chambersburg days), the Gap decided this year to just say "Do whatever you want." Or more precisely, "Do whatever you wanukkah", after their group of merry singers wishes everyone a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Solstice... uh oh.
They had to mention Solstice. Once you bring in those evil Pagans, it's officially on for the War on Christmas crowd. God forbid (pun intended) anyone discover that Christmas co-opted Solstice many centuries ago as part of an effort to wipe competing religions off the map. So the American Family Association called for a boycott of the Gap because of those ads. And the worst part? The Gap CAVED. When you see the sweater-wearing Gap glee club now, you'll see them singing about clothes... and that's about it. The sad thing is it's usually a lawsuit or protest from atheists that results in a holiday celebration going completely non-denominational. This time it was the Bible-thumpers. Oh by the way, Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends... I'm too small and inconsequential to merit a boycott.
Maybe that's part of the reason I'm not quite feeling it this holiday season. Protest fatigue.
Above all, this time of year is about spending time with loved ones, family and friends alike. Going home for a few weeks will certainly give me opportunities to do all that, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure that more than anything will get me into the appropriate Christmas spirit. And I might even find the time to get the Christmas cards done...
Suffice to say, I haven't paid much attention to the fact that it is indeed the Christmas season. The shopping is not coming along as quickly as I would like, and the panic that I should be feeling since it's only 11 shopping days until Christmas? Not feeling it. Maybe it's the lack of snow here in Philadelphia... yeah, I know I have a severe dislike of snow but this is the only time of year when I'll accept it because it makes me feel festive. We had an end-of-semester party the other night, and although the host's house had the halls decked and the tree trimmed and some jazzy Christmas music playing... it was not a Christmas party to me.
I'm seriously not trying to be Scrooge here, I like Christmas and my lack of spirit should not be confused for not liking the the holiday season. The recession has much to do with it. I certainly can't spend on others the way I would like. I'm also just plain exhausted, which is understandable after an intense 14-week first semester of Ph.D stuff. I will soon be going home for the semester break, which I think is when my excitement will kick in. For one thing, it's MUCH more likely that I will see snow, because, well, it's Syracuse. And when I have been out in the lights and regalia of the season, I HAVE felt festive. The lights outside the apartment complex are nice to look at when coming home at night. Walking through Center City and seeing the hustle and bustle (while wishing I had a couple minutes to stop into a store or two to get the aforementioned shopping done) is a thrill. It's the first time I've been in a big city at Christmas time since going to NYC in high school. I've even rediscovered my taste for egg nog. I kinda laid off on the stuff the last couple years... maybe just had a bad batch or something. I like mine WITHOUT the rum, by the way... if I want to get drunk I know plenty of other ways to do it.
I'm also quite peeved at another pathetic attempt to declare war on other winter holidays. Yeah, you read that right. The "War on Christmas" is not what it says it is, it's an attempt by Bible-thumpers to remind us that Christmas reigns supreme over all other winter holidays because we all should be Christians... or else we're going to hell. This year, they went after the Gap, because after doing the Happy HanuRamaChristmaKwanzakkah deal last year (which they swiped from me, by the way... we did something similar on the radio back in my Chambersburg days), the Gap decided this year to just say "Do whatever you want." Or more precisely, "Do whatever you wanukkah", after their group of merry singers wishes everyone a happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Solstice... uh oh.
They had to mention Solstice. Once you bring in those evil Pagans, it's officially on for the War on Christmas crowd. God forbid (pun intended) anyone discover that Christmas co-opted Solstice many centuries ago as part of an effort to wipe competing religions off the map. So the American Family Association called for a boycott of the Gap because of those ads. And the worst part? The Gap CAVED. When you see the sweater-wearing Gap glee club now, you'll see them singing about clothes... and that's about it. The sad thing is it's usually a lawsuit or protest from atheists that results in a holiday celebration going completely non-denominational. This time it was the Bible-thumpers. Oh by the way, Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends... I'm too small and inconsequential to merit a boycott.
Maybe that's part of the reason I'm not quite feeling it this holiday season. Protest fatigue.
Above all, this time of year is about spending time with loved ones, family and friends alike. Going home for a few weeks will certainly give me opportunities to do all that, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure that more than anything will get me into the appropriate Christmas spirit. And I might even find the time to get the Christmas cards done...
Labels: Christmas
posted by Dave | 10:29 PM
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