Ah, the holiday season. Sleigh bells, sugar plums, festively themed beverages from every coffee shop for miles around– it really is the most wonderful time of the year. Now, do not get me wrong, I hate the fact that Christmas decorations disgrace the aisles of every store in mid October just as much as the next person, and goodness knows that hearing the same 12 songs on the radio for the entire winter is not my idea of a good time. However, I do love the holiday season and all of the good cheer that comes with it.

    Obviously gift giving, trees, and all that nonsense is not going to be everyone’s cup of eggnog, and that is completely fine. Everyone likes different things. However, there is one objectively positive thing that the holiday season does manage to do nearly every year: bring people together. Whether it is a family gathering, work party, or simply hanging out with friends, most people spend the holidays with someone. In this way, all of the silly traditions and gift giving is just a disguise for the simple human need to connect and express love for each other.

    The holiday season also inspires the best in people throughout the country. Countless charities, such as Toys-for-Tots, experience a surge of popularity during that time, which helps these organizations distribute aid to those most in need of it. Though many people tend to think about Christmas as a shallow, consumerist holiday, donations like these show quite the opposite. After all, Christmas is traditionally a season of giving.

    Additionally, for many people as well as for myself, this time of year has spawned countless treasured family traditions. In my family, baking cookies and visiting my grandmother on Christmas is something we do every year, and it is always something I always look forward to. Without the holidays, I might not have had these countless treasured memories.

    Whether it is the feeling of togetherness, the beautiful memories that are created, or even just the classic traditions of trees and stockings associated with it, the holiday season has so much to celebrate. If one opens their eyes to all of the goodness behind the Christmas lights and glitter, it can truly be the happiest of holidays.

    Christmas — the holiday where you spend a couple bucks on relatives you only see once a year and pretend everything in your life is going exactly as planned. The time of year where it is usually more muddy rather than crisp and snowy, which Bing Crosby wrote a whole song about. 

  There are also the obnoxious songs all about a fictional man who sneaks into your house and leaves only gifts, but takes your food. Sounds like a real “jolly” holiday. Of course, there are pros and cons, like seeing family or giving and receiving presents, but Christmas is the time of year to see who really cares about you or who really cares about what you will buy them.

    Christmas brings joy to people for different reasons, some only care about their presents and others care about the people they’re surrounded by. But some people get a limit they can spend on Christmas, some can just ask for whatever and hope their parents get it for them, and others may barely have a Christmas. The holiday is supposed to be full of giving and love, but people can take advantage of that easily.

    Christmas really is a nice holiday for those who spend it with trusted people, but games like Secret Santa take advantage of the getting part of the holiday, and not the loving part. The people participating spend their money on gifts for people they may barely know or like, ruining the real meaning of Christmas. Also, the whole Santa Clause fantasy is just another lie parents can tell their kids, with the outcome of their kids losing trust in their parents’ honesty. 

    When people say they’re ‘so excited for Christmas,’ it’s not because of their family or their friends. It is because they get the gifts they wanted, and everyone is always a little more excited about themselves then they are about others.