As snow fails to fall and children become greedier and more entitled each year, the magical ambiance that was once known as the holiday season is fading fast, instead becoming a game of who can spend the most money.
From early November to late December, advertisements for the best deals on the best products are mailed out, posted on social media, and hung up in malls and stores; demanding in neon colors that you need to buy the best products right now while they’re on sale. Those, like myself, who fall prey to getting too excited about the holiday season early, understand that though Christmas may be a month or weeks away, the uplifting, festive mood is enticing and therefore celebrated too soon. This causes a burst of a celebratory mood that naturally can only last so long, fading fast as the actual holiday approaches, leaving us feeling not so merry when it’s time to trade presents and sit around the table with loved ones.
The stress of buying the priciest, ostentatious presents for the people you long to impress also destroys the joyous feeling of the holidays. In a world where technology and money are the main sources of happiness, it’s difficult finding a present that won’t disappoint. Handmade sentimental gifts can’t compete with new iPhones, laptops, and tablets; and as children are becoming more spoiled with each generation, the want for the newest products only grows. This urges the normality of spending hundreds on presents when Christmas was once a time to receive all of the clothing that was worn for the whole year, and maybe one or two toys that had been longed for since last Christmas.
The older you become, the further away you get from the days where the magic and thrill of Christmas made the holiday so wondrous. The delight that comes from presents appearing in the middle of the night via a magic man who takes cookies and leaves the spirit of Christmas, fades around the age of ten when your parents hesitantly tell you the truth about where all of those presents come from. Christmas is never viewed the same once the truth is discovered, that thrill lessens over the years as the piles of presents seem smaller with each winter. Not all of the traditions that were once long anticipated are celebrated as time and effort runs out.
As relatives grow older and move away, the holidays can bring a sense of longing and sadness as there are fewer people to celebrate it with each year. It’s difficult realizing that your family members are getting older each year, and that one day soon they might not be there, which can cast a dark shadow on the holiday.