’Tis the Season – (PowerHouseCreatives Contest)
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’Tis the Season
The holiday season that begins with Thanksgiving, climaxes with Christmas and then quickly fades into Valentine’s Day commercialism once we’ve ushered in the New Year - is now upon us. Some people are quite happy at this time of year, while others are quite sad and even depressed at this time of year.
Different people have different reasons for why this season makes them happier or sadder than they usually are. Some of them are only depressed during the holidays while they’re fine at all other times. It’s a rougher time than normal for many, and some choose to exit life during this season after losing all hope.
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And anyway, a New Year’s resolution will take care of fixing any and all damage we’ve done to ourselves during the holiday season. We all know how that works; once the holiday season ends, we’ll be back hitting the gym and before long, voila! We’re in fantastic shape again!
But while the holidays treat many of us to the most pleasurable parties and get-togethers of the year with friends, others are “treated” to even deeper levels of depression than normal, completely due to effects of the holiday season.
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One of the first things that I recognized about life as a child was the wonder of Christmas. I couldn’t get over what a great deal it was to get presents once a year from a supernatural, all-seeing fat guy in a red suit that was constantly watching us, to see if we “were bad or good.”
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He was second only to God as far as power goes, but he was way more fun because he brought us presents, as long as we checked out okay and we weren’t on his “naughty” list! I wonder how the serial killers we’ve had viewed this. Do you think they as kids hated Santa, and actually tried to get on the naughty list?
I think it’s logical to think serial killers would be exactly like this. It’s possible that their evil nature makes them hate the season because of all the good vibes, cheerful songs, (there’s usually a little more love floating around in the air too), and more people recognizing and wanting to help the less fortunate among us.
I was fully immersed in the Christmas narrative featuring the fat man in the red suit, and then the next Christmas would occupy a fair amount of my thought processes throughout the coming year. I based my entire existence on Christmas being the big day, and once it was over it was time to start thinking about the next Christmas.
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I found that the hoax of being told about Santa Claus at a very young age, as though he was a real person, was devastating to me when the time came to reveal it was all BS. I had a difficult time with it; I was even sure I had actually seen him in our house one Christmas eve when I awakened in the middle of the night.
Nine years old is probably pretty old for a child to still believe in Santa Claus these days, but back then it wasn’t that odd. None of my friends at school knew Santa was a farce yet either. In my case, it was my two years older sister that told me. She said it with such glee, I didn’t believe her, but it was soon confirmed.
I never thought that much about thanksgiving back then; I just knew there would be pumpkin pie, which I loved and it was the only pie I would eat. Having turkey wasn’t that big of a deal to me, as living on a farm we had fresh chicken a lot for Sunday dinner, and there isn’t really that much difference.
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I think that to truly know thankfulness we first have to know need. When my favorite uncle came to visit, and brought my sister and me gifts, my mom would ask me, “What do you say?” and then I’d tell my uncle “Thank you.” I wasn’t really being thankful; I was just acting out what I’d been trained to do on command.
At that age I also didn’t understand what “need” was. Oh, I knew I needed air to breathe, water to drink, etc., but I knew nothing yet of the life experiences that would instruct me on the other things I would need in order to have a full life.
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I would guess that it’s incredibly hard to feel thankful if we’ve literally gotten every single material thing we’ve ever wanted handed to us our whole lives. Living in such an environment, why would we feel thankful for anything; unless we’d experienced having a need that was out of our reach before we became wealthy?
I think this shows that when we can easily get whatever we want, we become less and less thankful for that which we receive. We then steadily promote the thought in our own minds that we’re entitled to whatever we get which then leaves absolutely no opportunity for the spontaneity of true thankfulness to ever show its face.
I think that thankfulness boils down to being something that doesn’t come naturally. I think it’s a quality that all of us can potentially add to our character, but also one in which too many of us will never show an interest.
Personally, I’m thankful that I am one who is able to recognize value in people and deeds, and to direct my thanks to the deserving parties. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
’Tis the Season © free-reign 2019
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Sources for images used in this post:
Festive Scene: Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Christmas Table: Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
Santa’s Sleigh: Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Happy Thanksgiving: Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay
![Power House Creatives Logos FINAL.png](https://steemitimages.com/1500x871/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUzYupyiqXfdHSGw7s6BBoVB15GL9ZvhUPnWoaEveXTiQ/Power%20House%20Creatives%20Logos%20FINAL.png)
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I personally never believed in Santa Claus as it's not common in my country. Nowadays, people try to sell this thought to their kids because of the influence of American movies, so kids might get confused. Strange..
I personally believe that everyone can be thankful. It depends on your surroundings and your personality. I do know people who have more than many people can imagine and they give the right example to their kids. They teach them to be humble and don't expect that they will receive anything in life just because of their name. Of course, the name will help them but if they learn at the early stage that they are not different than other kids then they will have the right start in life.
Thank you for sharing and have a good day!
Thank you for your great comment and for offering a different view since you didn't experience the Santa hoax! The bad thing is that I even put my child through it. It was a hard decision, but I felt almost forced because she would hear about it from other kids, and I didn't want her to miss the fun part, believing.
Santa was fun to believe in, and finding out the truth was buffered by the fact the the presents would continue each year! I may have over-exaggerated a bit on the trauma of learning he wasn't real, lol.
I hope the infusion of Santa into your Holidays doesn't get too far out of hand though, and best wishes to you!
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@free-reign,
This is a great post, my friend... and a great entry for the #phc Contest... This would certainly fit into my #thoughtfuldailypost movement. The thing that grabbed me:
I was just thinking, or discussing this... good memories, or thoughts, aren't always "good", as you have said; how can we truly know, or appreciate things, if we haven't experienced "everything" that life has to offer? Both good... and bad?
It's the order of things I suppose... again, wonderful post...
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Thank you for your kind words @wesphilbin! You know, in a couple of my posts in the past, others have told me that post would be a good one for your daily thoughtful posts. I may actually contribute at some point, but there is a small problem; the thoughtfulness aspects that show up in my posts are kind of random, or as in this one, due to a holiday or maybe something historical.
I think I need to recognize when my posts will "fit in" and then offer them up. :)
Othewise, I've been thinking about offering something, (due to those, and your, comments) I'll just have to see if anything worthwhile comes up, if I hit it head-on as the subject.
On what you mention on the order of things, I always think of Buddha as the boy prince who was kept from knowing, hearing about, or seeing anything about life that wasn't good, and how it affected him, (and in turn, many others), when he finally found out.
We must know about both good and bad or we know nothing.
@free-reign,
Hard for me to think, it was five months ago, that I got the idea for my #thoughtfuldailypost... You can maybe peek at my first post here... and decide if what you are thinking is worthy of the tag... I bet it is regardless...
https://steempeak.com/thoughtfuldailypost/@wesphilbin/thoughtful-daily-post-in-hopes-of-creating-a-trend-june-22nd-2019
Thanks! I read the post and I think I'll likely come up with something I can add to the mix of posts in the coming days. I'm caught up in zord189's PHC contest for this week atm, and it's a tough one, lol. Have you checked that out?
Keep up the great work and join us in The Castle sometime!
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Well said!
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Your final message is very beautiful. The Christmas season is different for all people. In some cases there are excesses while in others they have nothing materially. I think that the important thing was what you wrote "gratitude". A big hello @free-reign
Thank you @marcybetancourt for stopping by to read my post, and for your lovely comment! Gratitude is a wonderful thing, it warms our hearts and makes us consider the plight of others and especially the children. A big hello to you in return and Season's Greetings! :)
I guess there's always something to be thankful for..
I can usually find something, but it's getting tougher to do that!
Hello Hello!
Traditional celebrations are special for me, they give that joyful sense that many expect, even though people have left my country to improve their economic situation, I always keep my smile on those dates!
Greetings from Venezuela
Thanks for reading my post @iamsaray! Yes, I hope that there are more happy people at this time of year than sad/depressed. It's so nice to hear that you are one of the happy ones!
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Hey, buddy. The Christmas season for many is the most awaited of the year. I love to breathe Christmas airs because it is the opportunity to reunite the family. That's a good reason to do it.
Ah, I know what you mean. I love the Christmas smells also, very much! In spite of all the commercialism, I still feel a bit different during the Christmas season, leading up to the big day. I'm a little happier, I like the lights and the carols... I would surely miss it if it were taken away, and the season really does give folks a spirit of joy and hope!
Thanks for reading!
Well, you know I just can't help it! Christmas is still magical, fat man or not. I can tell you that I was devastated when I found out he wasn't real.
Seriously. I think I was on the old side, I really loved holding onto that part of the magic.
Le sigh.
It was my sibling too - one of the nine. You know how they like lording that kind of information over you. ;) To this day, I still love the magic of the season, I try not to get commercial or cynical and try to live in the true spirit.
I think you probably do too.
Season's Greetings!
!tip
Did you ever see him? That really happened to me as in the story, but to this day, I know that I had to have either had a really lucid dream, or I really saw someone in our house with red clothes on at night after I thought everyone was in bed. :)
I put up a good argument based on that sighting, after hearing my sister's revelation, in my attempt to squash completely the lie that he wasn't real. That's when she called my mom in to finish me off, haha!
I've always loved the season. When I was in the army, getting home for Christmas was important, and even when I was overseas, because I had been sent the previous January, I was able to get home that Christmas because I'd been able to extend my tour for 6 more months.
I had to go back in January again, but that time at home was so wonderful!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! 🎅
It's funny you should say that! I know I saw him, which is exactly one of the reasons my brain could hold on to that truth as I knew it. To this day, I hold on to the magic, just like I did when I was a kid.
The spirit of Christmas still remains within my soul.
I lived in Europe for a while, but, I came home for Christmas. Always. I understand that inherent need to be there as part of the festivities. At the time, I was sure the show wouldn't go on if any of us was missing. How could it? Perhaps my family is an oddity. When my brother was over in the sandbox, we sat the phone on the dining room table, in between the cranberry and stuffing and he had Thanksgiving with us. Now with nine of us, plus spouses and grandchildren, how are you going to miss one?
And yet, you did.
I understand your need. It was basic and it was part of the love you felt too. Being part of that. It feels good to know there are still people out there like that.
I hope the season is full of good memories and leaves room for new ones as well.
I wonder how many kids know they saw him besides us? Think it's a lot? 😇