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December 17, 2009

Overcoming Christmas anxiety

John Edmondson

It all begins for my wife, Betty, just after Halloween, when she notices the "half off" candy displays, including those industrial-sized bags of Twizzlers and Dots, treats no real sugar connoisseur has any interest in.

After the last of the picked-over glow-in-the-dark Jason Voorhees hockey masks are gone, it's only a matter of days before the grocery stores and retail giants deck their halls with inflatable Santas and all manner of flashing colored lights. Certainly by mid-November, it's impossible to brave a trip to the mall without hearing constant Muzak versions of "Joy to the World" or Madonna as she warbles "Santa Baby."

Betty, a born and bred Jewish New Yorker, usually gets a little grumpy this time of year. But I'm happy to report that she's making great strides overcoming Christmas anxiety.

Betty's rationale has always been that Christmas is a Christian holiday, and since she's Jewish, why should she just sit back and watch as Christmas gets shoved down her throat.

Of course, Betty is technically right. Devout Christians celebrate December 25th as the birth of Christ. But my counter argument is, though I was raised a W.A.S.P., I always considered Christmas a secular holiday. The only tradition I held to with religious rigor was finding creative ways to avoid schlepping my mother's Christmas tree into our living room and ramming it into its stand.

I don't pretend to speak for everyone, but the holiday season for me is about showing kindness toward our fellow man. It's about getting together with family and friends to enjoy this special time of year.

I have a Christmas tree in my living room because it's pretty to look at. And since it's a fake one, I enjoy all of its glory in the upright position, not like in the old days, when our three cats, attracted to the smell of pine, brought lights, tinsel—and my irreplaceable Washington Redskins ornament—crashing to the floor.

I started working on Betty this year just after Memorial Day, when the dollar stores start selling Christmas wrapping paper. And my efforts have paid off. She bought Christmas socks for a take-your-shoes-off holiday party. She's participating in an ornament swap at our school. She even bought a Christmas-red sweatshirt and wore it last weekend to a party. I actually heard Betty respond with a hearty "Merry Christmas" when one guest offered the same.

Betty happily offered to bring in some wonderful dreidels from her extensive collection and other Hanukkah items to help educate the non-Jewish teachers and students we work with. They're on display in a case in the Hampstead Middle School foyer. She's an equal-opportunity celebrant.

I have a feeling that next year, about the same time the excess Charleston Chews compete for space with the fireplace starter logs, Betty will be in a much better mood, ready and willing to give and receive all forms of holiday cheer.

Maybe I can even get her to wear some reindeer antlers.

John Edmondson is a teacher in Hampstead. His column appears every other week in the Derry News.

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