Juan David’s Newsletter - December 25th, 2022
How did I lose Christmas?
Merry Christmas,
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I wish it were true, or at least make myself believe it’s true.
When I was younger, it wasn’t the most wonderful time. It was THE ABSOLUTE BEST time. It was the thing I looked forward to the most. I would prepare by writing a letter to Santa, decorating the house, and anticipating the big day for a whole year.
But I grew up, and it’s all lost. No adrenaline. No excitement. No…nothing.
Internally I’m screaming, “What happened?!”
There are a few times when I wish I were a kid again. This is one of them.
I can only ask myself what happened to try to understand.
Now that I think about it. This feeling has become more prevalent ever since I found out what every older kid knows what every older kid knows about Christmas. Every year since then, it wasn’t as exciting anymore. For a few years, though, my younger sister didn't know and still believed, and I didn't want to ruin it for her, so I faked I believed and acted surprised when I was opening the gifts.
“Still believed” and “faked I believed” are better alternatives than no believing at all. That’s why statistics like this are concerning:
“The vast majority of U.S. adults believe in God, but the 81% who do so is down six percentage points from 2017 and is the lowest in Gallup's trend.”
Part of me wishes we never reveal the truth about Christmas, even for adults, and we keep it running for their entire lives. That would be the greatest operation we could do, and that would not only make December the most wonderful time of the year but also the whole year and the Earth itself genuinely wonderful.
Can you imagine people avoiding yelling at others drivers because they fear Santa may bring them coal?
What a world that would be! A world where the Christmas dream always keeps alive.
But for the old kids, Christmas becomes yet another excuse to find happiness in purchasing something. We feel happy once we open the many gifts and fake being excited with the present we received but didn't want or need. Or even worse, getting what you wanted but not what you needed1.
This is the most accurate for younger kids because once they receive a non-toy gift, they throw it across the room. Or when they receive what they think they want: a toy. Sure, they get happy for one day or even a week, but it’ll be a happiness that will be short-lived. The same thing happens for adults, but it’s a lot crueler.
In Spending Less on Gifts This Year? Congratulations, Tyler Cowen writes:
In 1999, Americans said they planned to spend $1,300 (converting to 2020 dollars) on holiday gift giving. In 2020, that amount was about $800.
It’s not about Americans becoming more selfish. It’s just many Americans usually have everything they need or want. I could give you another gift card, book, or random Costco shirt, but do you truly want it? Of course not, so in most cases, many people end up giving up nothing.
When I read Americans are spending less on holiday shopping. I was surprised, but it was a genuine feeling many people have been experiencing in the last few years.
Yet we still want to surprise ourselves and our loved ones with gifts. The more presents you get, the happier. Oh, and don't forget to add variables such as being esoteric, how much effort, a high price, and other random things that make things "valuable."
Not even gifts make us happy. What is our way out? An interesting path might be asking ourselves where Christmas comes from or what it used to be about.
Have you ever asked yourself that? I know I haven’t.
A (very, very) Brief History of Christmas
Christmas wasn’t always about polar bears, gifts, Santa Claus, and singers saying all they want for this holiday is you. Really? They want you out of billions of people. The moment I heard that song, I should’ve been suspicious.
Christmas means the Mass of Christ, which started as a celebration to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of God. Regardless of your beliefs, this started as a time of family, unity, and community. It was a time to remember how important coming together is and how perfectly imperfect our families are. In the case of Jesus, he was born in a smelly old stable among animals.
Our friend Leo Tolstoy was right all along when he wrote: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Finding that anti-mimetic family alikeness is another reason why Christmas exists, and for a very good reason.
Expectations and Finding Christmas Again
I started writing this on a cold, early, and quiet morning on Christmas day. Now, I’m finishing this later at night, and I’m still surprised by how precious everything is. Maybe the dinner didn't go as we wanted it, or something went wrong, but it all still happened. Expectations are the root of all disappointment and, if you stretch it a bit more, the root of all suffering.
While I'm reminiscing on the specialness of my early Christmas experiences, this year's Christmas was unique on its way. I'll look back on them with the same reminiscence or even worse because I would have wished I observed more, tried to feel, and enjoyed everything that comes with it.
Every Christmas is different, and in my twenties, if I’m given the opportunity of life, Christmas will continue to change, perhaps even more drastically and rapidly. My little cousins will find out what everyone knows what everyone knows. My grandparents may be participating in their last ones. New family members will be added. Circumstances and places change. And more!!!
But there’s one thing that will never change: our Christmas attitude.
Once again, we can believe in this magical moment, we can appreciate it and be grateful for every little thing such as that one conversation, the random gift or the lack of thereof, that one look from a family member, or even the built-up anticipation we had when we were little kids.
My friends, this is it. Let’s not allow our memories or expectations to change how we experience the true meaning of Christmas.
Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!!!!
Merry Christmas to you and your family. I’m sending you many good wishes.
It’s interesting to see in writing how my perception of Christmas changes over time. 2020 and 2021.
🎅🎄🎁🎉🎊❄️☃️⛄️🌟🎆🎇🦌🔴⭐️🟢 ,
Juan David Campolargo
Yes, this is inspired by Coldplay’s Fix You. Greetings, Ahmedabad.
Well said. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year my fav POS!