I do not like Christmas. Does that make me a Grinch?

I love the natural beauty of this time of year. The weather is crisp, but not usually so cold that I don't want to venture outside at all. The first snowfalls are beautiful, blanketing the world in a fluffy white quilt. The time of slush and ice crystals is yet to come. The season of hibernation looms in front of me, and I love the times of seasonal transition. The indoor and internal possibilities for the winter are endless. What projects will I work on this year?

I enjoy our religious celebration. The magical candlelit night of Yule is special. The children look forward to our Yule dinner all year, and I enjoy telling the winter fairy story by the light of the tree. The wish bread tradition is special, and our morning breakfast tradition of wish bread, orange juice and singing is great. I like giving the children a present or two from Luis and myself.

Christmas is not something I yearn for, though. It is overblown. There does not need to be six or eight weeks of anticipation for any yearly event in my opinion. I could be more tolerant if it were less in your face and more personal, but blow up yard Santas and houses dripping with lights seems to be more about keeping up with the neighbors than a personal celebration of joy. I tire of shop clerks threatening my kids with Santa ("you'd better be good because Santa is watching!").

I do not like the materialism of the day. Some of our family members are great with presents, giving needed gifts like clothes; special, quality toys that the children really desire; services like art classes; or educational things we might not otherwise get. These are great gifts, but still the obligation bothers me. I prefer to give presents because I saw something and thought of a friend or family member, not because the calendar says that I should give a gift. There are other family members, though, that I swear pick out anything at the variety store, resulting in occasionally bizarre gifts, like real microscopes given to five year olds. Other try to live vicariously through our family by showering our children with a literal mountain of toys, many of which will be played with for about two months before being forgotten or broken. It is over the top, too much to an absurd degree. It leaves us feeling like we should get very little for our children because too much is coming, but at the same time it feels like we should go overboard too because aren't we as the parent's supposed to be the primary gift givers?

Then there are the myriad traditions that seemingly cannot be broken. There would be a family riot should be not attend Noche Buena dinner, and I feel guilty every year that we do not attend a holiday gathering at a relative's home. The gatherings are fun, but I feel pulled in too many directions. I love seeing our families, but hate cramming six different events into four day's time.

The magic of the time of year is real, and I love seeing the children's face light up after Santa comes, dropping off a few gifts. I wish I could embrace the joy without the obligation and baggage, finding the fun that other people seems to find in the season.