Am I a Grinch?


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   Am I a Grinch?
   Let me say that I am Jewish, but I appreciate other religions. For example, I certainly enjoy Easter, with the Easter egg hunt. And I don't know much about Ramadan, but it seems quite good. A little fasting can really give you some perspective.
   But let's take a look at Christmas. A serious look. You know, Christmas is the only holiday that has a designation for someone who doesn't like it, the Grinch. And also the scrooge. I suppose I don't mind the whole holiday. In fact, I'm quite enthusiastic about everyone getting around with their family, giving out presents. And I love the Charlie Brown Christmas special! But there are certainly some things about Christmas that do bug me, I must confess.
  Like Christmas trees. Now I always find the notion of the Christmas tree a little troubling. To celebrate a holiday, go out and chop down a nice little tree. Every year, they take some ancient tree, a very big tree, chop it down, and bring it to Washington. What kind of celebration is that? It's no party for the tree, I can tell you.
  I get a lot of letters for Christmas. First, I get letters from businesses. The businesses want to send me holiday greetings. Well, I guess that's okay, but I could live without it. Let's be honest here, part of the reason they are sending me a holiday greeting is to get more business. Then my friends and relatives send me cards. Often they will send me long letters, printed out from a computer, with every detail of their year. I'm not sure how much I care, to be honest. Maybe one page from a good friend is okay. But five pages from some guy I barely know, detailing all of his accomplishments? It's a bit much. And finally, of course, let's not forget the old "Jesus loves you" card. I'm Jewish, right? The concept here is that I'm glad that you are happy with your religion, and I'm happy with my religion, so let's not mix them.
   Are you coming to the conclusion that I am indeed a Grinch? You could be right! The fact is, I'm just getting started here!
   About Christmas music. Some Christmas music, I really enjoy. There is Bruce Springsteen's Christmas song, and then there is "Silent Night", by Simon and Garfunkel. But what really gets on my nerves is the sappy Christmas songs. These songs are generally sung in a very emotional way by quite mediocre singers. You hear it on the radio, in the workplace, and of course in the shopping malls. Really terrible stuff!
   One thing I won't complain about, by the way, is the crass commericialisation of Christmas. Doesn't bother me at all, actually. It's not really my holiday, and if people want to get a little overboard with buying toys, that's no problem with me!
   Now, let's talk about Christmas in the workplace. In my opinion, Christmas and the workplace shouldn't be mixed, kind of like church and state. But apparently, society does not agree with me here. First, we are subjected to endless holiday parties. Some of my co-workers I actually like, and I manage to tolerate the rest of them. But if I really wanted to party with them, I would call them up and invite them out. So I can't really see the purpose of a holiday party. Maybe one holiday party would be okay, but typically I'm invited to four or five! It really gets to be quite a drag after a while. Then, there is the notion of giving presents to your co-workers. The co-worker who doesn't really like me feels compelled to give me a little $5.99 gift, that I have no use for. Then I feel compelled to give her a little gift, that she has no use for. And what's the point. We still dislike each other just as much! Certainly it would be better if we both saved our money and time.
   Well, let me wrap up this little essay. I hope that the reader doesn't think that I'm an irascible, grumpy chap. In fact, I'd like to give a little space to the opposing point of view. That Christmas is a time for people to be kind and cheerful. Why not give gifts to one another, and enjoy the holiday? Well, I certainly appreciate that point of view, and to show what a mensch I am, I've decided not to hack into Santa's website! Have a merry Christmas!