I hate Christmas

When did Christmas become so stressful? I remember all the excitement and joyful anticipation when it came to Christmas. When I had my paper route, I loved all the excitement leading up to Christmas morning knowing that my parents, brothers, and sisters would be excited about the gifts I had bought them with my own money.

I used to dread Thanksgiving Day because then Christmas is just around the corner. But now I am beginning to dread Christmas soon after Halloween when all the stores start selling their Christmas gifts. Mainly because I hate Christmas and because I hate shopping.

How did a religious celebration become a capitalistic day of obligatory gift giving? No, I haven’t forgotten that Christmas stands for Christ Mass. I used to go to midnight mass at Holy Cross Church as an altar boy; I utterly understood the meaning of Christmas. I remember when I used to see large crowds in church for Christmas. Now I only see them in stores as we scramble to get the last toy or doll on the shelf. I guess fervent devotion still exists, but in a different form.

Well, only two more shoplifting days left until Christmas! Merry Christmas!