With the holidays and winter steadily approaching, Christmas has been on the minds of hundreds and people the past few months and months to come. It is a time full of hope, religion, family and Christmas wonder, centralized around the spectacle of Santa clause for children- it is a time of year most people look forward to, however over the years, Christmas has become less and less about the Christian religion and family love, and more and more about the gift giving aspect.
Christmas originated from the Christian religion; to commemorate Jesus' birth, and the act of gift giving came from ancient pagan rituals designed to commemorate the end of one year and the beginning of the next. However, I believe this meaning of gift giving has been lost. In recent years, there has been an uprising in the use of social media, which has contributed to this, as well as parents becoming more leniant towards the attitudes of spoilt children. The amount of kids going from asking for a few toys, books and activities has progressed into mile-long lists overflowing with expensive items such as the newest phone, designer clothing and luxury brands. I'm not saying that people can't ask for these things, however there is a certain limit to the expectations required to meet these absurdly high standards. One way or another, christmas time brings out a new side to children– a spoilt one.
Not only does christmas bring out spoilt kids, but their overworked parents. In order for these parents to check off their kids' expensive tastes, they are overspending each year, going way out of budget to buy a designer item or the new macbook for their child to get bored of in the next month. Overspending can be a very serious problem, and money is a main cause of stress in this time, and a deteriorator of mental health, making the holidays a very hard time of year. Not to mention all the other costs of the holidays, like travelling to see family, the cost of christmas dinner, buying presents for other family members etc with around 69% of people feeling anxious around the holidays when it comes to cost.
Christmas is a very stressful and worrisome time, and many do feel holiday depression as they don’t feel as happy or cheerful as those around them or feel lonely as they have no one to spend the holidays with. Whilst this isnt really a problem stemming from christmas itself, it is a very key factor in this as theres a lot of pressure to love christmas as many do. That’s not to say theres a dislike for Christmas; its quite the opposite. Its just that as a country so focused on this festive season, it is important to gain perspectives from all different viewpoints to become better at supporting those who font necessarily share those views.
Whilst I find christmas time to be an annoyance and irritable at times, there is no denying the wonder of this season in london, so enjoy the holiday!
