I know that I have said I hate this time of the year, but that is not 100% true. I love Christmas time as it is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I just hate what it has become and what it brings out in people.
Christmas used to start the Friday after Thanksgiving. Sure you may have seen some decorations and such in the stores, but it was get through Halloween, then get through Thanksgiving, then finally get into the Christmas season.
These days Christmas starts in July with the Christmas in July crap, then you have all the stores putting up decorations sometime between August and October, then you have Hallmark which plays Christmas type shows nonstop around the middle to end of October until after December 31st, then you have music stations that play Christmas music nonstop around November 1, now you have Thanksgiving being cast aside in favor of more sales and it goes on and on. It is just getting to be too much.
I can remember when I was younger starting to get into the Christmas Spirit around mid November to the beginning of December. For the past 3 to 4 years, I have gotten into the Christmas Spirit after all the nonsense with spending and seeing nonstop Christmas is over. I find myself humming and singing Christmas songs and wanting to see Christmas shows now.
I know I may be weird and my wife calls me unique, but we need to get back to what Christmas actually stands for, the birth of Christ. We need to get back to family values where it is about spending time with family and friends versus worrying about is my house decorated enough for Christmas or getting that great deal or did I spend enough on my kids or having nonstop supposed Christmas type atmosphere shoved down our throats. We need to get back to being friendly with people and helping them out versus the anger and hatred we see today. We need to learn to be selfless versus selfish.
I am included in those that need to get back into the Christmas Spirit. I find myself being more angry at those around me this time of the year compared to other times. It could be the self fulfilling prophecy of expecting others to be nasty so I act nasty ahead of time in preparation for how they are going to act. However, this is not expressing love to my neighbor.
So how do we change? The first step as in all things is to admit you have a problem. Then start seeking a relationship with God asking Him to help you overcome this problem through His Son. I know the next one is a cliche, but we really need to ask ourselves before we go ballistic what would Jesus do. If you do not know, then I advise you to read the Bible starting with John, then Romans or Acts, then Psalms, then Proverbs. Of course that is my recommendation, but the reality it does not matter as long as you start reading to understand.