Ah, November has finally rolled around. Holiday displays are already up in most big retail stores, even though Halloween was only a few days ago. For some people, often those that don’t work retail, this marks the beginning of a joyous time. However, unlike most people, I shudder when I see the first snowfall and I dread November. As soon as I feel the first chill in the air in September, I know the worst is yet to come: the holiday season. For me, the holidays are the least joyous time of the year, but I always get side-eye when I say how much I hate Thanksgiving and — for me, personally — Christmas. So today, I am here to tell you: it is okay to hate the holiday season. You probably aren’t as alone in your internal disdain as you might think.
Winter is a hard time for lots of people. The sun sets at 4:00PM, your car always has frost on it when you’re in a rush to leave your house, the roads are scary to drive on, and spending time outdoors is complicated by the bitter cold. For those of us that love to go on walks and enjoy nature, it makes it a great deal harder. The snow, the wind, the ice, and the temperatures sometimes make it too dangerous to be outside, so the lack of sun and fresh air can really get the best of us. Staying positive can be difficult when you’re trapped inside almost constantly, from November through March (at least, probably until April in Chicago where I’m from). This whole SAD thing is really no joke, whew!
Not to mention, if you work retail…nightmares await. Black Friday, customers yelling, displays in the store that seem to constantly get messed up, and too much confrontation. The holidays seem to bring the worst out of the public when it comes to retail. Working retail for the past four years of my life has shown me that there is no other time of the year where retail feels so, incredibly dehumanizing. Customers bark orders at you like you aren’t a real person who deserves respect. ‘The freaks come out at night’, but the Karens come out at the first breath of the holiday season. Especially this year, with COVID-19, and the anti-maskers; retail workers everywhere are bracing themselves for the ‘I won’t wear a mask for five minutes in the store because it infringes on my rights!’ paired with the ‘you don’t have this in stock? I want to speak to the manager’. A true double whammy.
So, for us nature-lovers that work retail to support ourselves, holidays are a lot of pressure and seemingly endless stress. In addition to the pressure from the workplace, familial pressure remains. Getting the right gifts for everyone, spending lots, and lots, and lots of time with your family… it sometimes feels like too much. For those of us that are extroverted introverts, spending a great amount of time at family events can be draining – not that we don’t love our families, but feeling trapped at events can sometimes be a source of stress. And of course, we can’t really skip family gatherings. It truly can feel like a lose-lose either way.
If you fall into the categories of needing sunshine to feel at peace, being a retail employee, or being an introvert at heart, you know just how much this season makes you groan. It’s okay. All of your friends that are shocked at your hatred of the holiday season are just fortunate enough to like the merry, jolly, mushy mess that is November and December. I always get called weird for hating the holidays, but really, I just would rather feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and have the windows down on my car on a pretty summer day. It’s exhausting to constantly have to feel so much ‘joy’ from every angle when you feel the exact opposite. Bottom line: it’s okay to not like something that everyone else likes.
Merry Whatever.