Christmas
is a funny time of the year for me and has been for some time. In the
past, I’ve had some pretty shit Christmases and I guess that these experiences
have coloured the way in which I see this time of the year.
I think
that first of all it’s the time of the year. I am not a big fan of winter
and would much rather have the long days and warm evenings instead of the cold
dark ones. Maybe it would be better if this country didn’t grind to a
halt whenever there is a 1/2mm
snowfall, but then I only see snow as a cold, wet inconvenience, no matter
which country I’m in.
A few
years ago, I worked in a Unit that had no outside windows, which meant that
during the winter, because we worked twelve-hour shifts, I would arrive in the
dark, spend all day under artificial light and travel home in the dark.
We did no more than three long shifts in a row, but this still meant that if I
worked a Monday, Tuesday and a Wednesday, I would see daylight on the Sunday
and then not until the Thursday.
The other
problem that I find with Christmas is that fact that it has definitely become
more commercial. This has meant that rather than all the Christmas
adverts on TV and Christmas stuff appearing in the shops in the month before
the 25th December, it
starts to appear in October, and quite often a lot earlier. This means
that by the time it arrives, most people have had enough of it weeks ago.
I
think that the other thing now is that all of my kids are older, the youngest turning
eighteen 18 next month, which means that it no longer holds the magic nor the
excitement for them. It’s just another
day with crap on the telly and a big roast.
However,
I think that Emma is still a bit of a big kid when it comes to Christmas. Last year I was awoken at about 5am with the
words “It’s Christmas!” shouted Noddy Holder style. Admittedly, I did not leap out of bed,
instead choosing to roll over and go back to sleep for a further two hours, but
I could happily have slept for longer.
So
this year will be hopefully not too early a start, but it will be a busy day as
there will be ten of us (my family and Emma’s) sitting down to Christmas lunch,
with visitors during the day as well. We’re
lucky that both Emma and I are off, although she has to go to work on the bank
Holiday Monday, but after Christmas Eve, I don’t return to work until the New
Year.
I
wonder what 2016 holds in store.
