Why I Love Christmas

Back a little while ago, I posted eight reasons why I hate Christmas. But as promised, I would provide the same amount of reasons as to why I love Christmas, while it was a bit of a challenge for me, and somewhat of a stretch, I found reasons to enjoy the Holiday Season. Without further ado...

1. Snow, Snow, and MORE Snow – Easily my favourite part of this time of the year is playing in the snow. I love the feeling of falling back into a sea of cold fluffy powder to make a snow angel. While I was in Scotland last year, it is undoubtedly the thing that I missed the most. I was so thrilled back in December when I got back to North Bay and I saw a solid foot of snow waiting for me. However, as I look out the window now, I can’t help but feel that it is beginning to look a lot like Easter. I have been hooked on the white stuff for a long time, and if global warming keeps on trucking, then I am going to have start a twelve step program.

2. Giving the Perfect Present - While I am not a huge fan of getting things that I don’t need, or getting the forced “you shouldn’t have”, I love watching people’s faces light up when you give them just the right gift. It makes me feel really great about myself to give someone the absolute perfect present. It almost makes all of the stress of shopping worthwhile. Almost.

3. The Grinch – This is by far my favourite Christmas movie/special ever. It is simply one of Dr. Seuss’s most amazing masterpieces. The way that he so brilliantly invents words to fit his rhyme and rhythm never ceases to amaze me. This is perhaps his best work when it comes to Seussisms. Fap-dablers and Flungers hold the same special place in the English language as the Jabberwocky and Jub-Jub Bird.

4. Mock Christmas Songs – While a lot of Christmas songs outright annoy me, there are still some amazing satires out there. From Bob and Doug McKenzie’s “Twelve Day’s of Christmas” to South Park’s “Merry Fucking Christmas” there are some amazing acts of parodies out there.

5. The World Junior Tournament – Sure this may have nothing to do with C-Day, but around this time of the year my favourite annual hockey event takes place. I love the World Junior Tournament and am really looking forward to watching Team Canada go for their third straight Gold Medal. It is often the best hockey played of the year. The players, all under 20, and many of whom are un-drafted, have so much to prove. Combine that with larger rinks and national pride and you have an amazing event.

6. Family Gatherings – While they are a huge pain to try and organize, I am always glad to have them. Especially my mother’s side of the family, where there is not only the obvious fact that we all love each other, we’re family after all, but it is clear that we all genuinely like one another. A rare thing for families I find. While you don’t need Christmas to have such gatherings, it is handy to have an excuse to get together.

7. Great Movies – Yeah I know, it doesn’t necessarily have a lot to do with Christmas itself, but there are always a lot of really good movies that come out around this time. Usually it is a studios last minute attempt to be considered for Oscar Nomination, while staying fresh in the minds of the public. Whatever the reason, there always seems to be excellent movies that come out around this time of year. I remind you, that it was the Christmas season that brought us all three Lord of the Rings.

8. Holidays – Yeah call me selfish, but it is always great to have some time off. Whether it is from school or work, there is always a chance to rest around Christmas. I consider myself very lucky that I am going into a profession that guarantees that I have two weeks off for Christmas, for the rest of my life.

So there you have it, I guess the Holiday Season isn't SO bad after all....I guess. Anywho, speaking of Holidays, I am heading out East to see my mother and I won't be back until after the big C-Day, when I have about a zillion things to do including a Camp Reunion, a wedding, a birthday (my own damnit!!!), figuring out something to do for New Year's Eve, about three more Christmas's to celebrate and maybe sleeping a little bit over that time. Moral of the story, I wont' be posting too much over the next couple of weeks. I shall do my best to sneak on and post a thing here or there, I really want to get my 2006 in Review up before 2007 comes along, but we shall see.

Until next time,

G