Christmas is around the corner, but even if you do not celebrate Christmas, you might still be affected by how the world is affected by this "Event".
Around winter time, people start behaving accordingly to winter. You start seeing houses decorated, some activities and a lot of parents ( at least if you live in the USA) buying presents.
You might also see that there are a lot of Christmas themed movies. and the thing about Christmas is that : " It is a MAGICAL time". And that... right there... is the problem.
See, if you think Christmas is a magical time there might be a lot of room for disappointment.
Lets start with the perspective of a child.
Say you are a child in the USA and you start seeing these cartoons and movies with a new character. Santa Claus, who you only know about during winter and who's job is to bring presents to all the well behaved children around the word.
Usually, these movies involve a character with whom the child can identify with. A little boy or a girl. Now the child has engaged in the movie / cartoon and sees that if you are a good and special child you will have a magical moment during christmas.
Santa might need some kind of help to save Christmas and that character ( the identified child) is there to help and save the day. The problem is that when you are in real life... that situation never happens. If you are lucky and average, you will get a gift or gifts on Christmas day or christmas eve... and Santa never needed your help.
As the child grows, they realize that maybe they are not special enough to have Santa need them. The child might also start noticing that all the children around them ( if they live in a middle or upper socio-economical society) will get presents regardless of how they behaved. They will also realize that other children get different amounts of gifts and some might get exactly what they asked for and other might get something else, but with no apparent logic.
If the child is from a low income part of the society the Christmas is even more cruel. He or she might start noticing that not only he or she is not special enough to ever be needed by SAnta or get a chance to glimpse at this old guy giving toys on Christmas, but the child might feel even less special or worth it if he or she does not receive a gift.
I know this is reality, life is like this, but "movies" and the "expectations" that society in general raise around that time of the year when "everything is possible" and when you can find " the love of your life through the magic or christmas" or when you can get a "christmas miracle" makes it more cruel when it doesn't happen.
I remember feeling the hype of Christmas, I have always being very receptive to peoples moods, energy and I definitely can feel people getting excited asking a child what are they going to ask for Christmas? What toys are they expecting or what "miracles" are they expecting. Or just the energy in general on any given town, with the lights all twinkling, the ads of people being happy and families reuniting.
But then Christmas day comes and goes and what is left behind is a big void. Just a huge hole of emptiness. Most times the miracle didn't happen. The person you wanted to see didn't show up. The toy you wanted was not under the Christmas tree or even if the toy you wanted is under the christmas tree.. then what ? the magic is gone. Magic over... if what you were expecting did not happen, you need to wait until next year to try again.
For a long time I did not like Christmas, it feel like the hype was way to hi for what it really was. It also felt like people around me were more worried about presents, food and other worries instead of just relaxing and being together. There were pictures and attires, and perfection... and sometimes it felt overwhelming to me as a child.
As I grew up, I still believed that the magic of Christmas was going to "magically" change something in my life. Life, no effort, no plan.. just "by the magic" of Christmas... something "out of the ordinary would happen in my life, because I was special" ... Then in my subconscious mind I learned that " I was not special" because nothing "magical" ever happened in my life.
Just something to thing about.....
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