Whether it is Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice etc, that you are celebrating I am sure all of these festivities have many different approaches to do so by gathering with people you love (mostly, at least), sharing some nice time together, eating, drinking…

Exciting moments that have the power to bring people together and also bring some joy to our lives, even if it is only for a short period of time.

For me, Christmas was culturally the festivity which brought my family and loved ones together. There are many reasons why Christmas has changed and that is okay. It happens to all of us in one way or another. 

You grow up and so you may make up your mind regarding the original religious reason, you may also decide to be grateful for being part of a sweet lie that brought some magic to your childhood and you may also realise that the “New Year, New Life” motto can actually happen anytime if you gather enough courage and trust yourself to do so.

But, as I said, this may or may not happen to you. Nevertheless, one common factor for us all has been “growing up” as well, unfortunately.

How many times have you listen to your grandparents, or even your parents, talk about how different their Christmas time and experience was? How they settled for way less because that is what they had and how grateful they were that they even got to get anything?

Have you ever been shocked by the amount of toys your nieces, nephews, young siblings, young sons/daughter’s friends or neighbors are getting as presents?

Have you seen the trash bins full to the top and over the top the day after “Santa/Three Kings” have done their job?

Have you had or listened to any conversation in which someone is complaining or telling each other how hard it is to find a present for someone who already has everything they actually need? How hard is it for them to even spend money on a tiny present because they cannot even afford to pay their bills?

How many times have you had a chat with someone saying “it used to snow during Christmas when I was younger”?

Have you watched the News from the USA saying the weather has gone crazy because they are getting way cooler and harsh winters? But, meanwhile on the other side of the world… have you seen how Australia is breaking records for hottest winter day?

How many times have you heard or said “Happy Consumerism” as an ironic way to address this increasing problem we are facing nowadays for the last 10 (if not more) years?

I have many thoughts on this but I did not write this post to play the Grinch. I just want to say that is totally okay not to participate on this. Or at least, not like this.

If you think you are responsible and want to do something nice for people you love or have a commitment with, just know that you can still be nice to everyone on this planet and not fully contribute to a system that will actually end our existence (I really tried to be as nice as I could until this point, just let me have that one purely honest and harsh sentence.)

So, how can you make a small but huge difference? Find some pictures to make you think about it down below!

Happy whatever-these-holidays-mean-to-you! 🙂

Annaïs