Hi thunder32, and welcome to A2K.
Not to disagree with CJ, but you didn't say you "assumed" everyone else was a phoney, you said you "felt" that way. I know from experience that a situation may not be a certain way, but that doesn't change the way I feel about it.
Many people have mixed emotions about Christmas thunder, you're not alone.
I take it you are on the young side, since you mention coming come from school to see family. You're in college? If so, you're going through a time in your life where your feelings about a lot of things are being tested. When you're a child, if you enjoyed Christmas then, you may not now as you see it with adult eyes, and the responsibilites that go along with it.
In fact, I do believe many people ARE phoney about Christmas, but they don't even know they are being that way. Then again, it's my belief many people just go through life on auto-pilot, moving with the herd. They are supposed to feel wonderful and happy about Christmas, so they tell themselves they are....and so they are.
Reading the newspaper this morning, I learned something. I knew the celebration of Christmas was taken in large part from Pagan celebrations of the Winter Soltice, I think everyone knows that.
But, up until around 1820, it was traditional for people to basically drink and have sex and carouse during these few weeks, since it was too cold to work, and they had fresh meat (because it was cold) and the leftovers from the harvest had been made into beer.
However, in the early 1800's the industrial revolution came along, and business owners were not too keen on their employees just falling off the face of the earth for a few weeks, showing up drunk, etc.
So, little by slowly, Christmas morphed into a time when you still worked, but took a shorter time to buy gifts, see family/friends, without all the partying. It's gotten to this point that many people find this stressful, because it's just one more thing on their already full plate. It's no longer a time of rest, but ususally a non stop frenzy of spending and making sure everyone is happy, happy, happy.
If you have a close family, seeing them this time of year is great. However, not everyone is close to their families. Another however, they are supposed to visit these people they wouldn't otherwise be spending time with, because....that's what Christmas is all about!!!
At the age you probably are, I think it's some kind of law that you have to feel like Holden Caufield.. So don't worry about it.
Just figure out over the next few years what Christmas means to you, and, to thine own self be true. For those that truly enjoy Christmas, have a kind word for them.
For the people you percieve to be phonies, politely avoid them.
Hi thunder32, and welcome to A2K.
Not to disagree with CJ, but you didn't say you "assumed" everyone else was a phoney, you said you "felt" that way. I know from experience that a situation may not be a certain way, but that doesn't change the way I feel about it.
Many people have mixed emotions about Christmas thunder, you're not alone.
I take it you are on the young side, since you mention coming come from school to see family. You're in college? If so, you're going through a time in your life where your feelings about a lot of things are being tested. When you're a child, if you enjoyed Christmas then, you may not now as you see it with adult eyes, and the responsibilites that go along with it.
In fact, I do believe many people ARE phoney about Christmas, but they don't even know they are being that way. Then again, it's my belief many people just go through life on auto-pilot, moving with the herd. They are supposed to feel wonderful and happy about Christmas, so they tell themselves they are....and so they are.
Reading the newspaper this morning, I learned something. I knew the celebration of Christmas was taken in large part from Pagan celebrations of the Winter Soltice, I think everyone knows that.
But, up until around 1820, it was traditional for people to basically drink and have sex and carouse during these few weeks, since it was too cold to work, and they had fresh meat (because it was cold) and the leftovers from the harvest had been made into beer.
However, in the early 1800's the industrial revolution came along, and business owners were not too keen on their employees just falling off the face of the earth for a few weeks, showing up drunk, etc.
So, little by slowly, Christmas morphed into a time when you still worked, but took a shorter time to buy gifts, see family/friends, without all the partying. It's gotten to this point that many people find this stressful, because it's just one more thing on their already full plate. It's no longer a time of rest, but ususally a non stop frenzy of spending and making sure everyone is happy, happy, happy.
If you have a close family, seeing them this time of year is great. However, not everyone is close to their families. Another however, they are supposed to visit these people they wouldn't otherwise be spending time with, because....that's what Christmas is all about!!!
At the age you probably are, I think it's some kind of law that you have to feel like Holden Caufield.
Just figure out over the next few years what Christmas means to you, and, to thine own self be true. For those that truly enjoy Christmas, have a kind word for them.
For the people you percieve to be phonies, politely avoid them.
At the age you probably are, I think it's some kind of law that you have to feel like Holden Caufield.
....