Christmas is possibly the most exciting holiday of the year because Christmas is not a day, it is a time. The music, the lights, the decorations, and the presents all contribute to the unique nature of the Christmas season. Numerous songs and movies attempt to capture this reality; however, I believe, NBC’s The Office does it best.
On the Friday (or Thursday) of finals week, you probably walked out of your last final relieved, empowered, and feeling something like this…
Or like this…
Now it’s time to clean yourself up after a long, disgusting week of finals. You take your long overdue shower, eat a salad to make up for your previous diet of Starbucks and quarter dogs, and sleep for a solid twenty-four hours. Once this ritual is complete, you are ready to see your family and strut off the plane, fully prepped to kick off Christmas the right way.
But then you realize that, unlike Santa, you have brought no presents…not even from the bookstore.
(So you are basically telling everyone that you love them zero dollars-worth.) Thus, you spend the next four days of your life in panic, braving the endless lines and traffic in order to find the perfect presents…but it is all worth it when you picture your family’s smiling faces.
Then your family asks you what you want for Christmas and you realize everyone is just as behind as you. They expect you to answer with clothes or a video game, but all you are thinking about is your ND Crush.
Even so, you know all you are going to get is a sweater and, if you’re single, an uncomfortably bad blind date whom you constantly have to remind…
Christmas morning finally comes and it is just as great as you imagined. Maybe there is a surprise under the tree, but if not, you are just as content knowing that you knew exactly what you were going to get. Nothing gets passed you.
However, you then remember why your family only gets together twice a year…and you are led to contemplate cancelling Christmas altogether.
Especially when you are forced to happily greet your most unpleasant relatives, answering all the questions that every college student dreads.
As the party progresses, you wonder what the outcome would be if you challenged your obnoxious cousin to a duel…all in good fun of course.
But then as time progresses, you realize that you love your family just the way they are. They are the reason it is Christmas.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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