December 23, 2009

  • What's Christmas to you? For many people I think it comes down to five different things, gift shopping/receiving, vacation time, representations of this holiday season (Santa, lights, trees), get togethers, and the religion aspect of this time of year.

    Throughout the years, I believe gift shopping/receiving has been the primary thing that people associate Christmas with. It's always fun to receive gifts, and although there's no limit to how young or old you have to be to get gifts, I don't see it as a necessity anymore at my current age (unless it's from my parents?). When you are a child (or a teen) the focus is on receiving gifts; which is understandable, but as an adult the focus is more on buying presents for people (primarily kids). Buying presents can be somewhat of a pain to do though, especially when you have no idea what to get for certain people. It also pays to know if that person is willing to receive a gift card or money, because some people don't want those and want a "tangible well thought out" gift. Me personally, I don't see what the big deal is about gift cards / money, as I find that to be a gift I know I can definitely use, as opposed to a gift that I know I'll never use.

    Kids and teens who go to school full time, you get your winter vacation. I'm sure it's great, but I guess us full-time working class folks can count this part out of what makes Christmas to us.

    Things that I will never get tired of, are the images of Santa Claus, Christmas decorations, and the songs for this holidays. Admittedly I do not put up decorations at my household, but I do enjoy seeing other people put them up. Out of all the Christmas representations though, I think it's the songs that ground me of this time of year.

    When it comes to family and friends get togethers, I think Christmas trumps Thanksgiving. I find it more of a joyous occasion to meet with family and friends in the Christmas holiday, and I admit that the gift giving/receiving part has something to do with that. Combine that with all the holiday images and songs, then we got ourselves a fun positive time to be merry with our friends and families.

    Back when I used to live in the Philippines (the northern part), Christmas was so much more about the birth of Jesus Christ more than anything. I did live in a predominantly Catholic society, so when this holiday season comes around, just about everybody is out celebrating the holiday. Christmas in the Philippines trumps any place I've been to, because it's nothing like having what is essentially a huge get together that involves the whole city. Festivals, parties all over the place, congregating at Church, etc... it was simply hard to avoid the Christmas spirit back in the home country, and I actually do miss that. It is different here in the States, a lot more subdued, but I'm okay with that I suppose.

    All in all, Christmas is still my favorite time of year, and with that I'd like to say MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! AND MAY YOU HAVE A JOYOUS HOLIDAY!

Comments (4)

  • so you've never liked anything that anyone got you? not including the gift cards/money. like EVER?

  • @kalamai - I don't know where you got that impression, but that's not true at all. Very rarely have I ever received a gift that I never used (hello, Christmas themed sweater), as just about most of the gifts I got are stuff that I actually liked. I just understand that there's always a risk that a gift you give to somebody, might not be well received. To save people the stress, I tell them that I'm okay with receiving gift cards/money, but that it isn't their only option. I'm a very easy person to buy a gift for, plus there is a reason I have a public amazon wish list. ^_^

  • "Me personally, I don't see what the big deal is about gift cards /
    money, as I find that to be a gift I know I can definitely use, as
    opposed to a gift that I know I'll never use." <--that's where i got that impression lol.

  • @kalamai - well it's the truth. I'd rather get a gift card/money than a gift that I find useless. Thankfully that doesn't happen often, if at all. 

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