The Post-Christmas Blues (also known as the PCBs) are an interesting phenomenon: the build-up to everyone’s favorite time of year begins earlier and earlier each year and ends with a crashing thud. Several years back I remember seeing Christmas trees and all the ornaments and decorations that accompany them for sale in August at Hobby Lobby. It was then that I noted it was officially out of control. No matter what the retail reason is. This is wrong.
Why are we in such a hurry? Why is Christmas time so hyped? Can it really be as simple as we need to keep our economy afloat? Regardless, I refuse to play along. I don’t look at the decorations, refuse to hum Christmas carols and so help me when I walked into Walmart this year and saw the 46 Days til Christmas sign, I resisted the urge to go ninja on it. Not that I would never buy a gift early and keep it hidden for six months (I have actually never done this but would theoretically if it were ideal and the price were just right). I simply refuse to shop and prepare for and anticipate the arrival of Christmas until I’ve eaten Thanksgiving dinner.
The day following Thanksgiving, my youngest is all bright-eyed and bushy tailed–ready to decorate for Christmas.My daughter and I are sighing and thinking, “Can it really be Christmas again already?” He is one that wishes every day were Christmas. That is a lofty ambition but maybe not quite as unattainable as we think. Can every day be Christmas? Define Christmas. Isn’t it us celebrating the coming of our Lord to rescue us from sin and self? Shouldn’t we be celebrating that every day?
Now I’m not naive enough to think that presents don’t play a big part in his anticipation. But I wonder if there is more. If we didn’t decorate, anticipate, celebrate– would it be the same? If there weren’t so many intentional preparations and sacred traditions kept, would it be the same holiday? What if we did away with presents and gift giving altogether? Or what if we could only make gifts for each other or offer acts of service to our loved ones to show them tokens of our affection. Would we be more thoughtful in our selections? It certainly would be more budget-friendly. We have tried to cut back on the material things and make memories by visiting other islands together and sharing those priceless experiences.
Who says we can only be kind to each other and especially understanding one month a year (presuming the official Christmas season of Thanksgiving to Christmas day)? We all love Christmas–have we stopped to wonder why? To try and replicate the magic? Or have we all just assumed it wouldn’t work to have Christmas every day because then it wouldn’t be special. So we have should 334 ordinary days where we treat each other poorly and just focus on our careers or our personal ambitions and hobbies but then for 31 days we about face and become nearly saints? Hmm… yeah it doesn’t make much sense.
Obviously if we all took as much time off work as we do at Christmas, that would make things get done much more slowly but aside from that, if we just take a little extra time in the little things, spend more time together cultivating traditions throughout the year and appreciating the mail man, the trash collector and our child’s teacher regularly, we might not have such a crash once it’s all over. And for those who struggle to get through the season because of the loss of a loved one or just being overwhelmed by all the commercialism, wouldn’t this new philosophy be even more vital to surviving the Christmas fray?
Am I the only one who gets the PCBs? As much as I long to return to routine (and throw out every ounce of sugar in the house), I also long to keep the feeling of humanity we strive so hard to create when we look to the magic of Christmastime. We create this atmosphere through our words and actions toward our fellow man–it’s a choice. And I want to choose it more often. I think we’re selling ourselves short by only celebrating “God with us” once a year. Lord help us to live that way every day. And maybe then the Post-Christmas Blues would vanish before our very eyes.
Good riddance!
Decidedly Different 
Ah, very good points here. Yes – we should celebrate “God with us” all year round. What a beautiful and accurate way to think about this! Do you think He can be found in other parts of the liturgical year?
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Yes I think He can be found in the every day if we but look for Him. God talks to me through nature and other people and His word. I think m problem is I get too busy doing things for Him (and my family) to spend time with Him. I’m really struggling to prioritize this lately.
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