Hi there! Dave-El here and welcome to I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, the blog that believes you should have a choice to be holly OR jolly at Christmas this year. Holly AND jolly? Geez, who needs the pressure?
So today is Christmas Eve if you observe the Christmas holiday and, let's be blunt, even if you don't. Really, try to avoid it. You can't! If there was a war on Christmas, Christmas has won. And not just during this week of December but over temporal territory reaching back to Labor Day. Is it any wonder that so many people are tired of Christmas by the time Christmas Day itself gets here? 2 months of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" can wear down our joy of the season.
And its not just ordinary people who can feel the stress of the holidays. You would be amazed at who is feeling the pressure these days.
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| Art by Keith Giffen and Bob Oskner
By the way, a tip of the hat to Hell Is Empty@Sleestak for posting this image on Twitter. It's from an Ambush Bug Christmas Special and as I told Sleestak...
But you gotta think that Santa's been working with a December 25th target for awhile now so it can be a bit much to see deadlines filling up his calender for weeks or months well before that. And it's not like he didn't already have a lot on his plate, after all. For example, dealing with alien invasions.
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Dave-El |
| Art by Bob Jenney |
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The Dave-El family recently had this happen to us here at the El Fortress of Ineptitude.
Our neighbors gave us a beautiful Christmas tin filled with homemade chocolate chip cookies. Oh it's ON now! They can't get away with that!
We are prepared to retaliate with brownies! Ha! They started this but we're gonna finish it! THIS MEANS WAR!!!!!
All kidding aside (our new neighbors are really nice, sweet people) but this does present a quandary for the El family: when is it necessary to reply with a gift and when is it OK to just say "thank you" and not engage in an escalation of gift giving. I don't give gifts with an expectation of receiving something back but I have given gifts as a preemptive measure in case someone did get me something. It's like a game of Risk but with Christmas presents.
Really, this is too much pressure. And this not the only place where competition enters into the Christmas season.
Finished up #Christmas shopping for my wife. I have 1 more present for her than she does for me...I WIN! <insert maniacal laugh>
Yes, I will have VICTORY even if I have to buy her the fleece blanket AND the spiced tea set!
Boy, I need a break.
Below is a poem I wrote for last year's Christmas post. Given all this stress I'm under during this competitive Christmas season, I think it bears repeating.
So when did I start hating Christmas, to myself I ask?
Why is Christmas to me less a joy, more of a task?
I do not hate Christmas, on that I must be clear!
Christmas is a beautiful time, full of good cheer!
I love all the lights, how they twinkle and glow,
The stars in the night above, the Christmas lights below.
And the glow not just of lights but from the warmth inside
When we embrace each other and let go of our pride.
But I admit that I find myself so hard and so brittle
As the true meaning of Christmas means so little.
Buy this! Buy that! There's stuff to get, stuff to be gotten!
We must buy more things and stuff full every stocking!
So many have so much and yet we want more.
Christmas is real; I can buy it at the store.
Christmas is a commodity, I can find it on sale.
But I do not want more things to which I can avail.
Buy stuff now! is the message we hear many months prior
When the music starts early and of which I now tire.
Is Christmas too big? Does it need to be smaller?
The Christmas tree does not need to be taller.
A blanket of noise and glitter, with many things to sell?
I just need your hand to grasp and know that all is well.
Christmas is joy and light, not a burden we bear.
Christmas is a special happiness you can feel in the air.
Instead of what we can get, think of what we can lose;
Cast off darkness, despair & hate if we choose.
I don't hate Christmas, not the joyful, hopeful season.
Just look past the packages and tags,remember the reason
As light conquers darkness from the heavens above.
The true gifts of Christmas come from love.
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And some of the best gifts come from Darlene Love. Check out her 2014 performance on The Late Show With David Letterman. With Dave retiring in 2015, this marks the end of Darlene's annual Christmas tradition and she goes out in style.
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Click here for my Doctor Who Christmas story, How Strax Saved Christmas. Here's something I don't say very often about my own work: I really like this story. I hope you do too.
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I'm going to wrap this up for now. I hope you experience the joy and the warmth of the Christmas season. And remember, be good to one another, not just at Christmas but all the year 'round.
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