Killing the spontaneity of Christmas

This should have been a topic of interest last month, but doing so would have been "spontaneous," and would have contradicted this post.

Christmas is really for kids. For believing in snow and Santa Claus. For indulging screaming laughter and splitting waistlines. For fun and frivolity. For funky dress codes and weird hair styles. In a word, Christmas is spontaneous, or supposed to be.

In my childhood days, I believed wholly in the spirit of Christmas. I loved to hear Christmas carols. My eyes twinkled with every glance at the lighted Christmas tree. Time danced before me, because waiting for Santa's presents sent shivers of anticipation down my spine. And the highlight of every Christmas season is ripping open presents with abandon and excitement. It was fun. Because it was spontaneous.

Then I hit the 'age of reason.' It's no specific age really; it has no number. But when it hits you, Christmas loses some of its sparkle. Presents lose their seductive appeal. The food looks the same as it did last Christmas. Christmas carols seem old and repetitive. You're more absorbed in navigating your relatives more than collecting presents from them. Everything moves so fast that you wonder how you ever enjoyed a Christmas holiday. And ripping presents open has evolved to the refined style of peeling them open. It is orderly. (My new word for "unnecessarily complex and boring," btw. Inspired by a parental unit. Sigh.) So much for fun and spontaneity.

The epitome of 'Christmas in the age of reason' happens yearly not in December during the Christmas season, but in January (or worse, in February) after the Christmas season. Because one parental unit demands that opening gifts should be 'orderly' (please note my personal definition above), the stage has to be set in order to carefully document such a momentous occasion. First and most important prop to prepare is the video camera, for without it, the gift opening event will not be made possible. Next is the atmosphere - mellow Christmas carol, proper lighting to get a clear visual of surroundings and presents, the be-decked Christmas tree complete with Christmas presents neatly arranged underneath. Next are proper placements, chairs, props, and positions of everyone must be in full and clear view of the video camera. Finally, there is the script everyone more or less follows: "This is a gift from [mention source of present], and it's a [open wrapper at this point, and state object inside wrapper]! [Have option to state positive ONLY comments] Thank you!" Part of the script is to smile and enthuse. Since I'm a bad actress, that part is difficult for me to do, unless under extreme duress from the parental kind. Damn, I really perform here.

Generally, this annual ceremony has desensitized my enthusiasm for Christmas. If I ever have kids, I'm not going to impose this kind of 'orderliness' on them, especially when it's Christmas time. Christmas should always retain part of its magic, and I want to keep it alive as long as I can, be it in the heart of a kid or the heart of the child-like. May Christmas always be simple, fun, spontaneous, and exhilarating!