Festivus: the holiday for the rest of us.

Hello there, you wonderful human. I can tell you're wonderful because some part of your brain cares for my opinions.
KIDDING.

So, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Shops are playing irritatingly joyful music and the ground is slippy as fuck.
I'm sorry. I used to love Christmas, but this year I'm just...I don't know...not quite feeling it so far.

I'm about to sound really boring and possibly pretentious but here goes.
In recent years, I've started to realise that celebrating Christmas makes me a bit of a hypocrite. I am by no means a christian or even religious at all. Why would I celebrate the birth of a child that I'm unsure even existed?
Then there's the fact that I sort of grudge the wastefulness and not entirely deserving indulgence of it all. Dont get me wrong, I enjoy buying gifts for people I love, but it's the pressure of feeling like we all have to because Jesus says so.

I've celebrated all my life because my family do but now that I'm an "adult" and make my own life decisions (well, I try) and all that, should I really bother? Technically I shouldn't.
However, I have several problems with this idea: I love eating, drinking and being merry (so much!), I love an excuse to watch The Muppets Christmas Carol/The Grinch and to spend time with my nearest and dearest.

I voiced these opinions to J* who told me to celebrate Atheist-mas instead, or as it's (sort of) officially known: "Festivus."
I looked up "Festivus" to discover that it is a "secular holiday celebrated as a way to commemorate the holiday season without participating in its pressures and commercialism" which to me sounded just perfect and exactly the excuse I needed. It is meant to be celebrated on the 23rd of December but...yeah that's not happening.

Christmas is obviously fun and lovely, and I enjoy it, but it seems like the best parts of it actually have nothing to do with why it exists in the first place.

I guess there are lots of people out there that only really celebrate Christmas because the people around them do and many of them probably haven't thought about it as much I have. Maybe I just need to care less and drink more?

So...what am I going to do at Christmas you ask?
Well, darn it, I'm going to wear a festive jumper, eat 'til I burst and drink 'til I need several naps just like the rest of you because, let's be honest, I can't actually think of anything better.

*I'm starting to think I should just call him Jake, as that's his name and no one cares enough to stalk my blog and then kidnap him. There you go.