if you love holidays, don't read.

Where I happen to live, November is the only month that seems to stand absolutely still. It's subtle stagnation does my head in, it eats me slowly but determinately and the prospect of it leading to the worst commercial bombarding of the year doesn't help. "Christmas is the time of goodwill and giving" has always been a confusing statement to me, does it mean that the rest of the year isn't? 
It's the same thing with Valentines day. You HAVE to send your pals cards with hearts and x's on them and if you don't you're neglecting them. What about the rest of the year I've been there for them? It doesn't count because it's that one day that really matters. Doesn't it sound exactly like "Pavlov's dog"? In the desperate need for belonging somewhere and *blending* in to society we are just following the patterns and customs without questioning them. We're sitting by the table, eating traditional foods at Christmas because that's how it's "always done". We try to disguise it with "coming together and being with the ones you love" and in some cases it could even be true, for the people who are away working or studying and are coming home for Christmas but it still doesn't palliate the complete lack of interest towards the people around you for the rest of the year. It's becoming more and more like a computer game. The less thinking involved, the better.

That was a rant of a misanthrope. I think my problem is the inability to relate to traditions and mass hypnosis. Holidays are just a form of mass hypnosis to me, you dress in a costume for Halloween and that automatically makes you alright. It's just the core and that's how far we are willing to go. If the core's right, you're alright. But if you are ignoring it, if you're not able to relate even the least, you're an oddball. If you'd much rather draw at your desk or read a book or don't want to open the door to a posse of kids dressed as zombies then there's apparently something wrong with you. Your fault is the will to think and to analyze. Sadly, both of those are the acts of a vagabond in the current society.