Doesn't feel much like Christmas yet, does it?
It’s a weird year and it’s winding down wrong, which is to say not at all. Maybe it’s brutal heat and humidity, but they’re pretty standard parts of Christmas in the subtropics, so probably not.
It might just be all the fin-de-siecle horror of the news and the accelerating collapse of civilisation. But then again we’ve been doing that for a while now too. I think we all know where it’s headed, and when. (Jan 2025 is my pick for Peak Civilisational Meltdown).
If I had to put a finger on the malaise, I’d say it feels like there’s no relief this year. Christmas often feels like a relief, even if it’s the exhausted respite of falling over the finish line at the end. But this doesn’t feel like that. It doesn’t feel like there is a finish line this year.
Still, I’m hopeful that the magic week between Christmas and New Year will work its magic. It is my favourite week of the year.
I think that for some, Christmas has gone from being an occasion, something to draw a line through from a seasonal yearly thing, to a slightly glammed up special episode, an item to partake in, but once done, tick it off the list and then move onto the next one.
Previously Christmas was snoozing on the couch for days wondering how long can you eat leftovers before you give yourself food poisoning. Now it is do the presents, have a big meal, see the family whilst wondering how much work is piling up and how behind are you going to start the new year.
Running a book on Peak Civilisation Meltdown? Kinda like a Deadpool for most of us? I am going to take mid-May 2025.
I have no real time off as I have no leave left and need some to have a week in NZ Jan/Feb. But all in all, Christmas is quite dead for me now without the Olds. Used to love it, loved the long held traditions but that's fallen apart for my side of the family. The usual family shenanigans. :(