Originally written on Christmas Day, 2023
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Another year over...
Merry Christmas, everyone <3
I sometimes feel cynicism around Christmas. And it's not hard to see why, to be honest - it's easy to make comments about an over-commercialisation of a celebration of togetherness, and about hectic rushes and stress and tensions... and you wouldn't really be wrong.
But in the words of Tim Minchin - I really like Christmas. It's sentimental, I know... but I just really like it.
Christmas has always been special to me. And every now and again, a rational part of my brain rises up, and begins to question - why? After all, it's no longer than some holidays I take, and often with the same gatherings as may happen other times of year. Maybe I let myself relax a bit more, maybe I pour a cheeky sherry for myself one morning, but... nothing I can't create for myself at any other time of year, with much less frantic present-buying and stress.
And yet...
Whenever those thoughts arise, it's easy to answer them, you see. Because Christmas is completely artificial. Utterly. A Christian takeover of a Pagan celebration meant to cheer that the solstice has passed - on our little planet, we've pass the point where the tilt is at some semi-arbitrary point with respect to our local star...
...and because of that, we celebrate, we open bottles, we cheer, we sing, we give gifts, we light candles, we hug and kiss and laugh and watch bad movies and throw wrapping paper and have a thousand tiny little traditions that all differ and are all meaningless and are all important all at once.
It's artificial, it's arbitrary, and it's one of the most meaningful, universal things in my culture.
Christmas is important because we make it that way. And sure - with that will come all manner of things to be cynical about.
But that will never remove what it means. What it is.
Not to me.
I really like Christmas.
And it's sentimental, I know.
But I just really like it.
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1 week, 2 days ago
19 Oct 2026 19:27 CEST
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