Bah Humbug!

Christmas is one calendar month away from us. My bank account will remain unaffected as I boycotted Christmas close to ten years ago. I don't follow the usual garb that it's become too commercial [the reason used by many to forfeit their annual spend]. My reasons are that it's Pagan, straight up bullshit and I will not be dictated to in how and when I spend my money.

I am not a Christmas hypocrite, meaning I do not go out and buy you a gift just because the date happens to be December 25th. I buy you a gift because I feel that I want to treat you, I want to surprise you or make you feel a little special…just because. The same reason I made it perfectly clear when I was in my long term relationship "do not buy me a thing on Valentine's Day" There was no way I was walking around with these clueless starry eyed women thinking they are special when the other 364 days out of the year I don't see them carrying any flowers from their boyfriends and husbands. But come February 14th these women are acting like they are exclusive and he really cares. No sweetheart, you have flowers on February 14th so he doesn't get it in the ear from you when he doesn't buy you anything along with the millions of other pressurised men carrying overpriced roses. Now if a brotha brought me flowers on April 23rd I'd be loving the sentiment a hell of a lot more…no social pressures, a great surprise, and given just because...

I go out and buy gifts just for the hell of it. My parents never pay for dinner when they are out with me, if they want to see a movie I will buy them cinema tickets. I'll buy my dad his favourite bottle of whisky or like I did this morning leave a box of chocolates in the porch for my folks as I knew my dad was coming by to pick up some information I had printed for my mum. I'll buy my mum a silk scarf to add to her collection. I bought my friend a leather handbag, again just for the hell of it and to me that's how it should be. Giving because you want to give, when you feel like it. I can easily go out there and spend x amount of money and buy you a gift like a programmed machine in the run up to Christmas, but I may not feel like pampering folks on December 25th. Spontaneous gestures are much more worthy and as far as I'm concerned by not celebrating it will not have me banished to the fiery pits of hell.

"Ohhhh, but it's for the children." Is it? I thought a minute ago you were telling me it was about the birth if Christ, now this holiday is solely for the kids? It's time off work, an opportunity for a lot of people to get fat, run up some debt and a day some spoilt kids get what they pretty much want. And people seem to use it as the only day of the year to collect grandma from the home and spend about 10 hours out of the year with her and wheel her right back on in.

When I look around at Christmas I see a bunch of selfishness going on. People who are remembered like the grandma example only on the holidays. Are people that consumed that it takes one day where everybody else is doing it to buy somebody a gift and spend some time with the family? And what is up with the midnight mass on Christmas Eve for those who never step in a church any other time of year? Do these people seriously think this wipes out their wrong doings for the year and they are on their way to getting a VIP pass to the pearly gates?

This Christmas concept of 'goodwill to all men' needs to be adopted everyday of the year. Taking time out for family and treating people to gifts should be spontaneous and thoughtful. Don't you ever notice how people struggle to decide on a gift for somebody at Christmas? It's because they're doing it more because they're conditioned to doing it rather than doing it because they want to. When you see something special for somebody you'll just know. Searching high and low to find something you hope somebody will like doesn't quite work and aren't appreciated as much hence the influx of eBay listings on December 26th.

When I tell people I don't celebrate it, they jokingly call me a scrooge. I tell them "I bet you I put my hand in my pocket at other times during the year for friends and family than you do, so please don't act like you're something special." They soon realise I'm not much of a scrooge as they think.