Published on 12, July, 2020
I have to admit it's not my fav time of year. I liked it when I was really little because of Santa and presents but now I'm an adult it just makes me anxious. Everything about it causes me anxiety and discomfort. The shops and town become super busy and loud, bright lights are flashing everywhere, it's colder usually, everything gets expensive and family always mix and party which I find very hard to cope with. I just want to hide away for the whole month and come back in January. I know it's not Christmas yet but it's closing in fast and I'm already anxious and dreading it.
You know we've skirted around Santa on this thread, but I was serious in wanting to sack santa. It's a morality thing for me.
When I was a child, I loved the Santa thing. But it was also the one and only lie my parents ever told me. They let me believe long after other children knew.
One day, the school bullies were teasing me about my belief in Santa. I squared up to them and bravely defended Santa. Of course he was real. How could any of our parents possibly afford all those presents. I had no idea my Dad's carpentry and my mum's sewing machine produced most of them.
A nicer kid had a word in my ear about the truth. I went home and challenged my parents. They had to confess. I was furious. FURIOUS! They had lied! And in defence of their lie I had taken on the bullies, who made my life Hell. I would rather they had given me nothing, than lie.
Ok, getting it now. Aspie kid response to Santa and failing to recognise my toys were made with love despite the deception. However, that ethos is still with me a half century on. We have taken a spiritual festival and converted it to an orgy of commercialism such that poor parents go into debt to buy useless stuff for their kids because they are made to believe they have to or else they are letting them down, even if that means they will struggle to feed their kid come January.
Really? Is this the Christmas message?. Buy rubbish for your kid now and starve them in the New Year while you tell them lies. Really? What happened to peace and good will toward humanity.