Merry Christmas

Photo by Simon Zachrisson on Unsplash

Today is Christmas and I'd like to be happy about that because it is an important holiday to many people around the world. I am kind of happy about it, but honestly, there is a part of me that could care less. If I had kids Christmas might be more important to me. As it stands it is a fun day and a good day to hang out with family and friends.

For most people that I know, Christmas does not have that much to do with Jesus Christ. He is kind of there, in the background, and we whisper Happy Birthday to him, however he is no longer the star of the show. Santa Claus has replaced Jesus, it seems there are more people paying homage to Santa than the prophet himself.

Let's face it, Christmas is mostly about gifts. It's about stuff. Sure it's also about getting together with family. But how many people actually want to see their extended family? Sure it's about having fun with friends, but how many people are lonely on Christmas because they don't have many friends?

I myself am going to see a movie with a friend on Christmas Day, today, and then going out to dinner with my family to an Indian restaurant. For me personally, there is a certain peace on Christmas. All the stores are closed, you can't buy anything on Christmas. It is the only day of the year when you are not expected to be a consumer.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

It's a great day to sit around watching movies and eating chocolate if you ask me. It's a great day to enjoy life and not worry about work or anything else. It is a great day to just be. It is also the one day of the year you are not expected to do anything in particular. A lot of people spend the day in their pajamas. It is as if it is legal to do that on this day.

There should be more days like this in the year. A day when most people don't have to work, when all you do is sleep and eat and open gifts. We should have more breaks, more holidays. In America, all we think about is working and then spending money.

Let's relax not only on this day but in this life. Some days it is OK to not get out of your pajamas and not do anything except enjoy yourself. Christmas should not just be a day, it should be a way of life. We don't have to give gifts all year and spend exorbitant amounts of money, but we should just close down everything every once and a while and give ourselves room to breathe.

It should be OK any day of the year to watch movies all day and drink hot chocolate. It should be OK to not even be able to buy anything. It is good to not be a consumer for one day. It's like rare freedom. You can't even buy a four dollar coffee at Starbucks.

Lets think about closing this country down more often and talking to each other. Relating instead of buying. Relaxing instead of working. Spending time on things we want instead of spending money.

Christmas should not just be some regular holiday. It should be a wake-up call that life can be better.

nina