The Holidays Are Here

Last night was the first night of Hannukah (and yes I spell it that way-deal) and I was working. Again. Of course. I called my mother on break thinking that it would be a nice gesture to wish my family happy holidays. You know, simple and sweet, assuming that they were missing me while they were lighting the candles. The conversation went something like this:

Me- "Happy Hannukah!"

My Mom- "Well, we're going to go make some dinner now."

I had this awful feeling suddenly that maybe Hannukah was a thing of the past. Like the holiday was less important than dinner. It seemed old and tired to everyone else, and yet to me, it still held this promise of fun and presents (can't forget those because let's face it that's what this time of year is all about) and chocolate gelt. Except, I seemed to be the only one who seemed to remember that. My parents were disinterested in it, and I resented them a little for it. But maybe that's how they're supposed to act. Maybe they're over it, and as an adult I will have to be over it too in a couple of years.

So riddle me this: Is the holiday season something you can only truly appreciate as a kid?

Do the holidays lose their charm as you get older? And Santa isn't real anymore and presents are obligations that must be carefully budgeted for? Is the holiday season a concept that we must let go of as we leave childhood behind and enter the real world?

I am not content to simply watch my favorite time of year go down the drain. I am obsessed with the holidays. I love Hannukah. I adore Christmas (even obsessed my friends would say). There's a magic in the lights and the snow and the music and the family gatherings. Maybe I made it up. Maybe I still subscribe to the commercial qualities of it all. But there's a part of me that hopes that I never grow tired of December and the childish associations that I have with it. I hope that I will feel the same kind of excitement when I'm fifty as I do now.