The time and the season

I don’t know if this is a result of where I live or how I live but it is really difficult for me to get into the holiday spirit. I know that part of this is just a factor of getting older and realizing that I will never look at getting presents with quite as much glee as I did as a nine year old. But there are some other factors there and I kind of want to talk about them.

One of which can either be described as either global warming or what it is like living a little farther south than I would typically like. See for me Christmas is synonymous with snow. While that wasn’t always the case growing up I am used to snow covered ground on Christmas morning. Here in KC we got a really nice three inch snowfall over the weekend where at one point it looked like a near whiteout. One of those storms that let you know that winter is here and it is time to focus on the season. Or that is what you would do if it wasn’t in the forties today and all the snow has melted. So instead of having everything covered in a blanket of pure, white snow I get to spend my drive to work looking at dead, yellow grass and trees with half their leaves still stubbornly staying put. That just doesn’t seem like Christmas to me.

I can’t really understand what someone who grew up in California associates with Christmas. The weather is the same weather it always is. I can’t see a kid going “I have to wear a windbreaker that means Christmastime is here.” I know this is a minor thing but to me it is as important as lights on houses and specials on television. It lets you know that time has passed.

But probably the bigger factor is how I live or at least how I experience the world. Most of my week is spent in an office where besides a few token decorations every day looks like every other day. As I’ve often said, I can’t even see a window so there is no sense of a holiday. At best you have a sense of people rushing to use the last of their vacation before they lose it. That’s just an odd state of affairs. Now I’m not fond of Secret Santa or any other organized holiday festivities but my office certainly isn’t a place that puts you in the spirit.

The rest of my life, well, it doesn’t match the pictures in commercials either. When you design for yourself a space age bachelor pad existence the holidays really don’t factor into the equation. I lack certain items like a tree or a wreath, which makes things seem a little less than festive. Again, I’m not sure if I find anything wrong with that. My life is at a point where having those things would seem completely silly. But I know I’m missing something and it bothers me.

I’ve been writing about the trappings of the season and I know those have little to nothing to do with the entire spirit of the time. A time to take a step back and recollect and thank those who help us through the year. I understand the meaning of Christmas but that doesn’t mean I always get to experience it. That’s what the trappings are for, to help provide emotional cues. It might be silly and cliché but sometimes that’s what you need in order to experience the moment.

Since it’s Wednesday and I needed to post a song I decided to go with the greatest Christmas song ever (and not just because I won money in a trivia contest for knowing that Midge Ure was the cowriter.)