Does it not feel like Christmas to anyone else? As in "The Season"

I haven't "felt like" Christmas in many years. I did it for my son; once he was grown, I quit. Now I have a grandbaby and I'll do a little for her, she's too young to really be aware yet. Next year, I will do more.

This year I bought a few presents - I'm pretty broke - and made some other presents. I skipped the past few Christmases, after everybody skipped me for years. I tend to give spontaneously through the year - giving people what they need when they need it. This year I have some new people in my life and I want them to know I welcome them.

The religious part used to be the focus of my Christmas, more than my family ever recognized. As I learned about how commingled and hijacked Christmas is, I'm down to a few melancholy thoughts about how nice it might have been, and a simple hope that others will find inspiration still.

I purely detest the commercialism, the social contests, and the rudeness that accompany the secular Christmas, and I won't participate in that at all.

I have been minding your thread for you while you are gone, keeping it alive.