otter reALM NEWSPAPER ARTICLES |
I do not need to be the one to tell you, but with Halloween and Thanksgiving now firmly out of the way, there can be only thing that rapidly approaches… Christmas.
Too many, Christmas might signal the best part of the year. A time for relaxation, a time for cold weather, for snow and hot chocolate by the fire. A time to eat food like there’s no tomorrow, taking peace in the knowledge that it’s ok because of course, it is Christmas. A time for gifts, for sharing, for yuletide cheer and a time, indeed, for friends and for family. A no doubt captivating and eagerly anticipated time of year is in store for these such people but I ask you my friends… is this really the Christmas you are blessed with each year? Is it not a time filled with unavoidable stress, screaming kids and awkward conversations with family members we don’t really know? Does Christmas not come and go with every passing year and leave in its wake, not but watered-down memories of the Christmas we once loved and cherished as children? After all, as a now 22-year-old semi-grown up, Santa Claus has well and truly vacated-the-building or has at least put me on his bad list for the foreseeable future given that the best I can hope to receive these days are socks and cheap deodorant. No but forgive me if you will, but I’m drawing the line on Christmas this year. No longer will I allow Christmas to rob me of what little I have left in my already moth filled wallet. The yearly routine of last minute dashes to buy (arguably) mediocre presents for friends will just have to stop. Nor will I be bullied into, sit through, or endure any more soul destroying conversations on how much weight the dog has put on or if anyone remembers that *insert song that no one remembers*. Love or hate it, Christmas appears to come loaded with a set of obligations that we as individuals feel compelled to uphold and as a student and young adult, it is my intention to question whether now, at this age, it is sometimes ok to ignore these obligations. For example, as an international student studying overseas, I have decided to spend Christmas in New York City this year because the opportunity presented itself and the likelihood of being able to do so again other than this year is unlikely. Naturally this means I will be away from home and family and will disrupt the usual traditions this year. Is this a selfish decision? The fact that I will be absent from putting up a Christmas tree on a certain date or singing Christmas carols in the village center? Maybe not. But being away from those who love us? Yes. The point being is that this is only just one such dilemma that we are likely to face as we get older and begin to build lives for ourselves. You may be in a relationship and torn between choosing whether to spend Christmas day with your family this year or theirs? Or perhaps your hometown friends want to go out on Christmas Eve because everyone is now twenty one, but this would mean skipping the annual Christmas party put on especially each year by your aunt. Evidently, the decisions we make at Christmas time are likely to cause some degree of change and/or disruption to someone or something. The best we can do is hope to not upset too many people. “I see Christmas today as little more than just another excuse for excess commercialism. Yet another holiday for companies to exploit individuals which just leads to greed. I love my friends and family and appreciate them every day. I don’t need a special day where I am obliged to spend it with them.’ Said Moritz ‘Mo’ Bartsch, Business Major and International Student of CSUMB. Mo will be spending his Christmas on Waikiki Beach Hawaii this year, a first for being away from home at Christmas time and as an active choice to drop the usual traditions and to spend it differently. He does also raise a point. We are spending more and more every Christmas and for what? Do we feel obliged to buy each other gifts and sometimes gifts that we knowingly cannot afford? I would say so and this again boils back down to my argument that these obligations we experience are at times excessive and hinder how we really would like our Christmas’ to be. That being the case, I say this year, allow yourself a little Scrooge time and do something for yourself on your terms. Down with tradition! For one year at least…
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
By James Morley
|