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The false meaning of holidays

Ju Hyun Kim

| December 3, 2015

Santa died earlier this year. He became sad that less and less children believed in him, so he started drinking heavily. And then he ended up in an accident and died. Mrs. Claus did try running Santa’s workshop on her own, but it ran out of business. Which is the reason why Christmas is cancelled this year. Okay, I made all that up.

Well aren’t the holidays a great time? I mean, it’s the time where we get to be free of school, spend time with family, and relax until whatever else gets thrown in our way. But, after hanging out with a variety of people, I realized how much I don’t actually understand holidays.

To be fair, I’m not the most cheery person about holidays. I did make a YouTube playlist called “cynical holiday cheer,” a playlist with just the most cynical and strangest videos related to the holidays. Seriously, who would think to make a song about how nothing is a “miracle” or a comedy video about the literal invasion of Christmas? Most of the time I just find cynicism to be a great source of comedy, but sometimes too much cheeriness just becomes boring.

To quote “Thanksgiving is greater than Christmas” by Molly Lewis, “But Christmas, it has some issues we wish we could do without.” The celebration of holidays come earlier and earlier every year, from people complaining about how everything isn’t “festive enough” to Christmas songs being played everywhere since the beginning of November. I know November is just a void of nothing, but do you ever get bored of just celebrating? Also, do you think I want to hear festive ads right after Halloween?

But while I am busy being a skeptic, let me tell you about people who celebrate the holidays differently. There are people who don’t celebrate the holidays at all. This may come as a surprise to you, but not everyone wants to celebrate or can celebrate the holidays. Not everyone visits their family members for a giant festivity, or have time to celebrate anything. It also seems like people forget that Christmas is not the only holiday. Everyone seems to be complaining about how everything is not Christmas-y enough, but not everything is about Christmas. Holidays are not something that everyone looks forward too, but we forget that because we are too busy concentrating on holding on to the quick-flowing stream.

So instead of being cynical during the holidays, think of the holidays as a time to relax and think of all the good to come out of next year. Maybe give joy to someone else instead of sitting down and sighing. Donate your happiness and time to others, and don’t be a cliché by being cynical at Christmas. Even if Santa is dead, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the end of the cold month with a smile.

Anyways, good luck on your exams, enjoy your break, and thank you for reading these blog posts.

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