It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

So I realize that there're only twelve days until Christmas. But I'm really starting to get into the spirit. Christmastime has some really great aspects for everyone, those who celebrate it or not.

1. The music- I get that no one likes department stores playing Christmas music in October, or even early November. But it's the time of the year when most stores actually play quality music. The rest of the year, stores will play either whatever "the kids" are listening to nowadays, or crappy elevator music. There're so many other good genres that could be played that wouldn't offend anyone when not near Christmas, such as jazz, classical, orchestral, etc. But they choose not to. So only during Christmas do I find store music to be acceptable.
2. The movies- Christmas movies are always fantastic. From Home Alone to Miracle on 34th Street, there's a Christmas movie out there for anyone. Even Elf, which I find to be utterly horrifying any other time of the year is tolerable during Christmastime. These movies are heartwarming breaks from our usual dreary lives. They help us remember the spirit of Christmas, or at least that's what they try to do. 
3. The gift giving- I absolutely love it. I get that you kind of have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy this one, but shhhhh. I really enjoy picking out gifts for people. Just thinking that I might've improved their day just a little bit by giving them something just really makes my own day. I like thinking of what they might like and getting it for them. I don't know, it's just fun. 
4. The food- Admit it. The food's probably the best part. The Christmas cookies. The candy canes. The fudge. The holiday themed Starbucks drinks. They're all fantastic. It's the one time of the year when you find yourself searching for excuses to eat. I mean, come on. It's getting cold outside. I could use a little more insulation, right? Totally.    
5. The family- Alright, this one's a bit of a stretch. But there are those lucky few of you out there who only see their family on Christmas and don't have to spend any more of your break with them. But it's always great to see family, whether they annoy you to no end or not. You have to cherish them, because they won't always be with you. So don't take that for granted.
6. The activities- Sledding, skiing, snowboarding, snowball fights, whatever your cup of tea is, they're all great. Sure, it's cold as the Grinch's heart outside, but the time spend with friends or family doing these things are memories that you'll always remember. 
7. The snow- White Christmases are the best. If it doesn't snow for Christmas, it's quite depressing. And it looks like it might not this year, which is too bad. But when it does snow, it's beautiful. Snow falling at night, it's probably one of the prettiest things in this world. Snow also makes all of those awesome activities above possible. So that's another plus. 

So no matter whether or not you celebrate Christmas, consumer Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, whatever Islamic holiday is around Christmas this year, or don't celebrate anything at all, there're always benefits to living in the great country we call the United States of America around Christmastime.     

Happy generic-wintertime-holiday to you

With the coming "holiday season," there's a feeling of electricity in the air. It could be from all the school-aged students anticipating the beginning of break. It could be from the anxious and stressed adults trying to make sure to buy their children the right presents from Santa. It could simply be from the lack of humididty in the air. Nonetheless, we can all feel it.

We all looked forward to it as children. No matter what religion or lack of religion, we all anticipated the winter break. Back then, for me, it was called Christmas break. But times have changed, and that's no longer socially acceptable/politically correct. It's now called "holiday break" or just "winter break." And I find that ridiculous.

The first reason is this: IT HAPPENS FOR CHRISTMAS. No matter what, the 25th is always smack dab in the middle of it. There are no other holidays during that break except for New Year, which is simply celebration of a new year arriving, no religious strings attatched. But it's not called, has never been called, and will never be called "New Year break."

"But wait!" you shout. "What about Hanukkah?" I respond by telling you to sit down and shut up, it's story time. Not really. I suppose it's more of a history lesson. Does anyone who is not of the Jewish faith here know the story of Hanukkah? I suppose some might. It is a celebration festival for a miricle that occurred a long, long time ago. After rebuilding their temple, the Jewish needed olive oil to light their menorah. But they only had enough oil to burn for one day. Miraculously, the candles burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil was able to arrive. The Jewish religious leaders declared it a miracle and created Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, to celebrate it. Pretty cool history, huh? Too bad it's not that big of a deal in Jewish culture. It's not that significant of a holiday. In basic Christianity, we don't have a holiday like that because we don't really celebrate the minor(ish) miracles. I'm not saying it's bad to do so, I'm just saying this: Hanukkah's not that big of a deal. It's mostly so well known because it falls relatively close to Christmas some years. This year, not so much. Hanukkah this year is from December 8th to December 14th. Little off. If we really cared that much about valuing Jewish holidays, why don't we celebrate Passover? It's one of the most widely observed Jewish holiday. But let's be honest. We really only like Hanukkah because gives us a way to seem like "holiday break" is for everyone.

"Okay, but what about Kwanzaa? I remember Kwanzaa from elementary school," you might say. And that's cool and all. But what is Kwanzaa? Pugetsound.edu describes Kwanzaa, saying it's "An African American and Pan-African holiday celebrating family, community and culture, Kwanzaa is a secular observance with some religious participation." It's essentially a holiday simply created around the time that Christmas was to let others feel included (and once again, I'm not bashing it, I'm just sayin' it as I sees it.) It was created because of Christmas.

"Well, isn't there some Islamic holiday around there?" you question. Not really. There's Eid al-Adha, which occurs around October this year. The last time it occurred around Christmas was in 2006, when it was celebrated between December 30th and 31st. This is largely due to the difference in the Islamic calendar and the Gregorian calendar that most of the English speaking world uses. So sure, every once in a blue moon Eid will occur around Christmas.

So let's face the facts. It's Christmas break. Stop with the fake equality thing. You know you don't give a damn about any of the other holidays.