Oy, Humbug!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you be of good cheer It’s the most wonderful time of the year :::::needle scratches across the entire width of the record:::::: I am not alone in this sentiment but I always feel that “we” are in the minority. Or, are we? Are there more of us in the holiday closet covered in tinsel sitting on a menorah? The holiday season starts a few weeks before Halloween and goes right through New Year’s Day. Yes, I am prone to hyperbole and I know Halloween isn’t part of the mischegas but if you were in a big box store any time after September there was already retail encouragement to buy yo’self a big inflatable Santa. I was raised nothing. I am of Jewish extraction: my mother’s mother was a shiksa. She converted to Judaism which strictly speaking makes me Jewish. I identify mostly with pastrami and a new dill. If you are in the “humbug closet,” what I have realized is it isn’t really for one reason. It isn’t a simple equation and it can change depending on what your circumstances are. There are people who have horrible childhood memories and that can make navigating the commercialized cheer unbearable. For myself some seasons were better than others. They ranged from okay to not fun. Some years I just wanted the Thanksgiving Day tryptophan to shove me into a com