6 hrs left, and the airwaves are carol free....

I can't wait. If I have to hear 'feed the world' or 'deck the halls' one more time, I am going to throw my radio(s) out of the window, considering I live in a 50 storey building - my actions will result in an incredibly painful/fatal experience for some unsuspecting passerby. I am an avid radio listener, that means my radio is on 24/7 from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep, which also means I have one in every room.

Am I one of those crabby people waging the so-called 'war' on Christmas? No... In fact I've just been itching to share my anti-Christmas mood with anyone who'd listen. So here it is. And I'm not alone (yippers!).

I hate Christmas! There I said it! aaaahhhh relief. I really, really do. And sure, I could be one of those Indo-American (more specifically those who are religious minorities) folks who partake in a depoliticized version of this commercial garishness, I just can't get myself to do it.

I don't want to be an 'absolutist' about this event either, I mean hey it's fun to spend time with ppl you love and celebrations and pretty decorations are lovely and all. But I do wish Diwali was a two day holiday so I wouldn't have to rush and make a ginormous feast for everyone in a mere 2 hours. To be fair, I give presents to close friends who I know celebrate Christmas, I also give out presents to business associates and generously give an annual tip to maintenance people etc...

I guess, your vision of Christmas would have to largely depend on your parents. My parents who are far from Hindu fundamentalists (my dad 'was' an atheist and my mom's 'spiritual') were indeed adamant that 'no Santa did not distribute gifts to good Hindu kids'. I put up a stocking, didn't get anything - and voila, no whining about Christmas after that.

See, for diasporic religious minorities Christmas is either about Christian hegemony (though it's a former 'pagan' holiday) or it's about capitalism & the 'spirit' of the season.

Well, to me I think the former is a more efficient explanation of why so many religious minorities celebrate this festival. Only because we live in a white hegemony and well, I would buy the latter explanation if everyone didn't try to so hard to convince me that I'm too cynical and it's all 'harmless' fun.

Come on now, you hated having to explain why you didn't celebrate Christmas in the first place for the first x many years. You also hated having to explain why you never got presents. And it sucks to be left out. It really does... It's easier to enjoy an event when everyone else does (instead of demanding that there are more holidays!) and it feels good to fit in.

This way, we can all celebrate the season together - and since Santa's make-believe anyways, we can also pretend that an old, white patriarch who has un-supervised access to your home and who operates a sweatshop*, will always give to you if you play nice! :) You know the Janus-faced benevolent patriarch who 'gives' you something if he gets his way....

Anyways, we weren't the first group to celebrate Christmas and I'm sure we won't be the last.

venting done...
* Link via Spotted Elephant