I often hear songs at work about wishing every day could be Christmas.
This is, obviously, something I myself do not wish.
Upon hearing one of these songs a few days ago, I couldn't stop myself from saying out loud, "Why would anyone want to perpetually live in the most stressful, expensive, insane time of the year?" To which my coworker responded that they were most likely talking about the "spirit" of Christmas, caring and giving and all that.
Yes, most likely, this is what these songs are referring to. But, perhaps it's due to my retail worker status, or maybe I'm just a cynical person, but to be honest? I don't truly see that spirit in much of anyone.
And I started thinking, after that conversation, about when I actually do see acceptance and a sense of community come into play in the world.
And that time, at least in my eyes, is Halloween.
As far as I'm concerned, Christmas is a lot of talk and not a lot of action...or rather, the action feels forced.
Would anyone actually go out and spend the amount of money that they do on gifts, all at once, if the calendar didn't tell them to? To me, it feels much more meaningful to randomly see something in a store, think of a person, and buy it for them just because. Wouldn't it also be more meaningful to have a big family dinner, because people want to get together, not because there's a specific date on the calendar that tells us when this should be done?
Instead of feeling the joy that is so often talked about this time of year, people are spending themselves dry, running themselves ragged, trying to outdo themselves and others for some strange idealistic "best Christmas ever", that has nothing at all to do with the values and feelings these songs and movies and whatever else are expressing.
Again, this could be my almost-sixteen-year stint as a retail worker talking, but I've run across more people that don't even seem to like upholding holiday traditions, than people who are super excited about it. The people that shop in my store seem exasperated, like they're doing it out of obligation and can't wait to just get it over with. They complain about money. They complain about cooking. They complain about cleaning up after the people they're hosting...At certain points, I almost feel like getting on the intercom and asking why they're bothering, then.
Once again I say, it may just be my personal experience, and I may just be cynical and closed-off to certain things at this point in my life, but in my mind, based on my personal experiences, holiday "cheer" is very much a manufactured thing. It's like a fake smile from a burnt-out retail worker during this very time of year.
I couldn't help but notice, though, this year, how different the world is at Halloween, and how much happier people seem to be, even doing things that maybe the once-a-yearer would consider obligatory on some level. When I was at the street fair in Sleepy Hollow, in early October, the feeling of joy all around was impossible to ignore. Whether it was at the street fair itself, around the town, or in the cemetery, people were happy. It was as if every barrier, every wall that people put up in the "off-season", was broken, and everyone around felt like it was okay to be their most authentic self, and embrace everyone else's joy at being their own most authentic selves as well.
I'm always self-conscious about taking pictures of my things when I go out, but on that day, I wasn't. I was just one of many, enjoying the day, enjoying the spooky atmosphere, and I felt accepted.
And now I can't help but think that very feeling, is what the Christmas songs are describing...they just have the season wrong.
The thing about Halloween, that I notice more and more as the years go on, is that it gives people who maybe wouldn't normally feel it, a sense of freedom, and some sort of permission to be the versions of themselves that they maybe hide from the world when it isn't "time". Suddenly everything is more acceptable, and for that all-too-fast portion of the year, what would normally be considered "strange", or whatever cliche adjective you choose to use, is welcomed with open arms. Quite frankly, that kind of love and acceptance is what the world needs, and it happens so organically during "spooky season", that I don't think many people even notice that it is. Welcoming that which is strange and unusual, accepting and becoming one with the parts of ourselves that we might normally choose to hide, suddenly becomes as natural as the changing leaves in October. And sadly, it is just as fleeting. Such is the sad way of a calendar-driven society. But, for the time that it is here, it is truly a beautiful thing, just to see everyone happy with themselves, without judgment of those around them, and having fun with no sense of obligation.
Maybe for some, the Christmas spirit still exists in adulthood. But I have yet to experience a Christmas season that seems as magical, as full of love and acceptance and freedom, as Halloween.
Stay spooky, my friends.
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