Christmas Curmudgeon

I’m a Christmas curmudgeon.  I am.  And I’m proud of it.  An unapologetic Christmas curmudgeon.

I see the rampant consumerism that’s all but taken over the Christmas holiday.  I see all the effort and energy expended on things that seem beside the point at Christmastime.  And I see the instances of uncivil and anti-Christmas behavior all around.

And it’s not just the pepper spray and mob mentality.  It’s the uncaring, selfish attitudes that many have, even at this time of the year.  I have three family members who work retail.  I’ve heard their stories of snotty customers who think that it’s a major crisis (and the salesperson’s fault) that the store doesn’t have the sweater they want in their size and color.

But overall I think I’ve been quite magnanimous in my curmudgeonhood.  I’ve been walking past Christmas displays for over a month and haven’t intentionally knocked over even one of them.  I’ve shown great restraint in not shouting “Turn off that crap” when I hear yet another sappy rendition of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like Christmas” playing over the store PA.  And I mostly kept my self-righteousness to myself last Friday when I drove by stores with parking lots jammed with cars.

But like most self-righteous people, I’m not terribly consistent in the application of my principles.  While I take perverse pleasure in turning up my nose at the Christmas grab-fest that began on Black Friday, I probably begin as many sentences with “What I’d like for Christmas is” as any other person.

Still, when it’s all said and done, I don’t allow myself to get too worked up about the drowning of Christmas under the tidal wave of consumerism.  I walk by the Christmas displays in October.  I close my ears to the insipid Christmas music.  Ultimately, the way I celebrate Christmas is within my own control.

I guess in some ways I’m like Linus in “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown.”  In contrast to Charlie Brown’s angst and despair about the state of our Christmas observances, I try to keep as calm as I possible and proclaim in a simple and direct way the Christmas story:

“Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings

of great joy for all the people.

For unto you is born this day

in the city of David a Savior,

who is Christ the Lord.”

Hmm.  After all is said and done, maybe I’m not so much a curmudgeon as an idealist in disguise.  Joy to the world!