I just like that time of year, one of the reasons I got married in December. I love the muted sunlight, the early evening hours, the nip in the air, wearing sweaters (and now since moving to Indiana - boots, gloves and hats!), the lights (bulb and candlelights), the smells, and the colors.
I even loved that time of year as a child being raised within the bOrg, because when I was a child my grandmother (on my father's side, she had not yet converted to the watchtower) used to cook for the holidays and had a decorated tree and I got to visit her during Winter Break before I had to go to my jw grandmother's house. I even remember receiving gifts from my aunts before they converted too.
I really loved all the feel good commercials they had when I was a kid around xmas time...especially the McDonald ones where people would give out the McD gift certs to the mail man, paperboy etc...lovely little scenes of snowy streets and people shopping.
I actually like going to the mall near xmas time...it is pretty festive. call me crazy..
And everyone can celebrate my birthday too! And this year Christmas occurs during Hanukkah. None of these celebrations are my own, but, I have adopted a personal policy that encompasses the idea of "when in Rome..." If there is something being celebrated by the people around me, I celebrate with them. I've learned a lot about very obscure traditions, silly family traditions, and some very cool traditions from other cultures this way.
What a crock we all were handed to be forced to stifle joy, celebration and ritual. How dead we used to be.
