Dreading December.

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and I came across an interesting article about the holiday season. As it turns out, a lot of Dutch folks really dislike this month, December.
When asked, 32% admitted that they disliked the hustle and bustle and 33% said that they would rather skip December entirely.
How cheerless :( was my thirst thought. I understood it better after reading the entire article.

Why people dislike December:

It is the darkest period of the year. The days are shorter. Some people really get depressed because of this.

Some people feel lonely and deserted. They have lost their spouse; have no kids, relatives or friends. They dread the festive December days because you are supposed to share them with others. They feel they have to be cheery all the time, but aren’t. Some of them don’t even want to admit that they spent Christmas alone, because they feel ashamed.

Others feel deprived because they don’t have the extra money to spend on a Christmas dinner or a tree. Seeing all the Christmassy stuff in stores and supermarkets only makes things worse.

Other people feel they have to do way to much. They feel they need to plan and cook dinners, invite relatives, do things for the church, clean their house top till bottom, buy presents, make flower arrangements, buy a tree and decorate it. When asked if there wasn’t a possibility to delegate some of this chores the answer was no. Some people feel overly responsible.

Some people even hate to spend their Christmas with their family.

Apparently there are tons of reasons to dislike December, but isn’t Christmas just what you make of it! I think a lot of problems would be solved if people just did the things they loved to do. Don’t go to the big family dinner if you really don’t want too. If you want to spend Christmas on your own for once, just do it. No money for a tree, check which restaurant or offices have a tree. Are they closed around Christmas? If they are, they will probably throw their tree out just before Christmas. Want to stay in bed and enjoy an all-day breakfast buffet, be my guest. If you don’t have the funds to host a grand dinner, eat what you normally eat but prepare the food in a different way. Just enjoy your perfect Christmas, just the way you like it. Forget about the Christmas that is dictated in the movies and books. Christmas is about love, fun, you, enjoyment, relaxation, peace and tranquillity and wellbeing. It’s not about obligations, being obliged to, must, long faces and stress. Christmas……make sure you can say ‘I enjoyed it my way’ :)