Y’all know how much I love the holiday season, right? I mean I love it. I’ve said this so many times that a few of
you are probably rolling your eyes, mentally saying, “yea, yea, move on, tell
us something new”. But this is an
important stress point for me.
Honestly it does not matter that I’m Muslim, I LOVE
Christmas. It’s the lights, the sounds,
the good cheer, the smell of cinnamon and winter in the air. I can’t help but loving the bright colors and
hustle and bustle of it all, and yes, I’ve been known to fall into a little bit
of a funk after it’s all over. So
understanding all this, also get that what I’m about to say comes deep from
within my soul: I really hate that
Christmas seems to be coming earlier and earlier every year.
A few weeks ago, before Halloween, I went to the grocery
store and saw this:
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| This pic was posted on Oct 22 |
I was absolutely appalled.
Shortly thereafter came the commercials on TV, the Hallmark
(Damn You) relentless Christmas movie extravaganza and finally the
decorations. And I’m thinking to myself,
"wait is it December already?!?! How the
heck did I miss November so seamlessly?”
Lo and behold, a friend confirmed that it was indeed still the 10th
month in the calendar year and that the turkey holiday was yet to descend upon
us leaving us in a tryptophan induced coma.
Pardon me for saying this but something is seriously twisted about
this world where we are unable to slow down, not even to save our lives. Has this become our culture? Is the message now: never mind the journey, just get to the final
destination? Has time honestly stopped mattering? I’m confused is why I’m asking these
questions. This is bewildering to me but then again, may be I'm just not smart enough to get it?
And I’m not just talking about Christmas starting to show
itself before Halloween. I also speak of
Valentine’s appearing in all its red hearted glory and diapered cupidness even
before the human race screams in the new year in a drunken stupor. Easter eggs can be found weeks upon weeks
before the actual day and the list goes on and on.
I remember as a child the anticipation of the upcoming
holidays being overwhelming. Maybe due
to the shortness of my own existence at that point, everything seemed to move
slower somehow. Summers were longer, the
two weeks of Christmas break seemed like so much time and the distance between
birthdays was endless. Life moves slower
to a child, but in a joyous savory way. How lovely is this? Too bad adults cannot do the same.
The child I had been found untold joy in espying the twinkling lights which were reserved
for only after the turkey had been eaten and the apple pie consumed. Our neighbors would be out the very next
weekend stringing lights while the malls started to ‘dress up’ with
tinsel. And speaking of malls, Santa didn’t arrive
before December 1st, Santa knew better. Now, Santa shows up even before Turkey
Day. Santa done lost his mind and Mrs.
Claus needs to check him, that’s a fact!
Okay, but in all seriousness, People, this actually is a
bigger problem, in my opinion. When we
can no longer slow the hell down to take in what we have at the moment we're having it, it’s safe to say that
something is wrong with society as a whole.
And of course retail companies/stores are more than happy to egg us along by stocking
shelves with nonsense that is not applicable to our lives at that specific
moment.
Let's just stop the madness. Let's stop looking so far ahead into the future. I understand that the excitement can get to us but really, just put on the brakes. I mean, what guarantee is there that we'll be around to see it? Heck, there is no assurance that we will survive the next second, so how are we arrogant enough to think of next week or next month?
Now, I'm not immune to the whole pre-pre-pre-holiday spirit. I've found myself in the last week or so walking around singing some random Christmas carol, doodling decorated trees on a notepad or indulging (a lot) in those stupid sappy holiday movies. I can't help it since I'm human but I also know that by the time Xmas rolls around, I'll be overloaded. I just want to look forward to Thanksgiving with my family, maybe make plans to go Black Friday shopping. Is this simple request too much to ask? I promise after that I have every intention of re-discovering the wonder of Christmas and anticipate the big day (which also happens to be my birthday).
You have my 2cents worth. Go do with it what you wish, which probably is nothing.
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| P.S. Here's a picture of what the courtyard of my work looks like. This was taken last Friday. :| |
Enjoy the rest of your day!
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