According the pop culture dictionary the phrase "Bah! Humbug!": is an exclamation that conveys curmudgeonly displeasure. The phrase is most famously used by Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol published in 1843. This character was most famously portrayed by actors such as Micheal Caine in "The Muppets Christmas Carol", George C. Scott, Jim Carrey, Sir Patrick Stewart and Christopher Plummer.
Bah! Humbug! This phrase sums up perfectly my extreme dislike for Christmas.
In case you missed it and LOUDER for the people in the back: I DO NOT LIKE CHRISTMAS! I have a curmudgeonly displeasure regarding Christmas. In fact, if we never celebrated the holiday ever again I would not be sad. And yes, I just heard your audible gasps and silent judging.
Yes, I am a Christian and I know Jesus is the reason for the season. Yes, I know how to keep Christ in Christmas. But Christmas isn't about Christ; most especially for Christians.
So why don't I like Christmas....Let's start with the Man Himself!
Santa Claus, Jolly ol' St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle. The lie. When my husband and I were first married, many years ago B.C. (before children) he made the request that we do not have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy or none of the mythical creatures and traditions for our children. I was at a lost for words. What were we supposed to do? Not lie to our children? I asked him why he wanted it this way. His response shook me: "Because when we finally tell our children that all of these things were fake, I do not want them to question if God is real."
It made absolute sense to me. So when our oldest was born and for her first Christmas, Santa was no where to be found. Our children have been given the truth, that all of this comes from Mom and Dad. I have been judged by this decision because this lie is the magic of Christmas. The "magic" is a lie.... think about that for minute. Both of my kids have known the truth that Santa is a part of the Christmas Spirit of giving. That he came from the story of a monk named Nicholas who did great deeds but the commercialized Santa Claus isn't real. We also taught our children that many other children believe he is real. We taught our children to not disrespect the belief of others. What others believe and do not believe is their own and we should never belittle their truths.
I tend to roll my eyes during that Sunday School lesson that reminds us that all blessings come from God and we need to recognize and give thanks to God for what he did for us. It is inevitable that someone always mentions Christmas morning when their kids open their presents and give thanks to Santa Claus and not to the parents who did the work. The feeling expressed is one of sadness that they, the parents, were not properly thanked (insert eye roll here). Frankly, you set yourself up to not be thanked.
I grew up with the idea of Santa Claus. I was 6 years old when I was told he wasn't real and that it was simply my parents who gave me all of my gifts. This was devastating but as I got older it made sense. I couldn't understand that I had been good all year and I would see a kid in my class who bullied and made fun of others getting lavish Christmases and gifts while I had been the good girl and got very little; not knowing it was all my parents could afford.
When I was about 4 years old, I remember fighting with my brother. My mother threatened me with cancelling Christmas if we wouldn't stop fighting. Her words were that she would put a note on the door telling Santa to not bring us presents because we were naughty. Looking back, I was willing to be good for a man that did not exist before I would be good for Jesus.
As true Christians, Santa Claus is an ideal that we have given to our children that places a fictitious character before our God. (See Commandment #1). If your intent is to focus on Christ and put Christ back in Christmas, the fat man and his elf must go.
I do enjoy Christmas music- all nine of them! Let's face it, there are few Christmas songs and we listen to a remix of each. This year I have officially banned the song Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Why? Think about it. A reindeer is bullied because he is different. No one steps into help him - not even Santa until Santa realizes that Rudolph can do something for him. You may argue that this is a song to celebrate our differences and I can agree with that. But if Rudolph didn't have a red shiny nose but was missing a leg and could not help Santa? Would it still be a story that celebrates our differences? It is a song that doesn't encourage us to celebrate our differences unless that difference can selfishly serve us.
Christmas is also about gift giving and so for someone like me, whose love language is Gifts (giving and receiving) - this should be the greatest day of the year for me. RIGHT!?!?! No. Not at all actually. When I was a teenager, Christmas was a meager event. I had a single mother who did her best. She would take me shopping for Christmas with her to help pick out gifts for my siblings. At the same time, I would get my gifts too. But I would have to wrap them and wait until Christmas to open them.
As I became an adult, got married and had kids, Christmases didn't get any better. I have had many Christmases where I received nothing but gave to everyone. In order to keep the peace at Christmas with my husband and within my marriage, I pay for it. ALL of it. The food, the gifts, the cards, the decorations. All of it. My only husbands only responsibility is to take care of the cost for our Christmas movie; that was the compromised made. I share this with you not for pity but to show you how much this holiday hurts. In a holiday that should feed my love language, it starves it.
The expression of my dislike for Christmas isn't only about the gifts. I love giving gifts! I love seeing the look on my children faces when they tear into the perfectly wrapped paper or bag. I love the joy I see from others when I have given them a gift thought out and one that reflects them. That does not go away just because I did not get anything in return.
Finally, I dislike Christmas because it seems it is only time of year that people care to give to charity. Why can't you give to charity because it is a Wednesday? Why does it only have to occur for 31 days out of 365 days of the year? I have heard preached over the pulpit that we should carry the Christmas Spirit in our hearts all year long. Let's be honest, who does? Who is willing to share the love the other 334 days of the year? People aren't not just in need during December. July is a great time to serve and give back to our communities.
Christmas is a week away and while it seems like I am a disgruntled elf, I am really not. I am a good Christian woman searching for the true meaning of Christmas. To me it is a celebration of the birth of My Savior, Jesus Christ. Due to the demands of the season, I find it hard to see that celebration when everything about the holiday distracts from it. It tells lies, feeds our inner narcissist, tells our inner child that they are not good enough because they got a small or no Christmas at all and distracts from the peace that so many search for.
Christmas time is a time of traditions that bring good memories and people together. Christmas is a time for us to be, not just better Christians, but better Humans. Now is the time that we need to truly let go of the traditions and a holiday that starve us emotionally, physically and spiritually. There is goodness to be found in Christmas but for now, I see that the current expectations/traditions starves me more than it feeds me.
BAH! Humbug!
