re: #172 Pumpkin Pie Of Zion

That said, I can understand that there is a “Seasonal Affective Disorder” that can afflict some people, because of unrealistic expectations, dysfunctional family gatherings, and also the burden of holiday preparations can be oppressive.

re: #215 A Mom Anon

That would be me. My family takes ALL the fun out of dysfunctional, I mean they aren’t even quirky, they’re mostly just assholes. I do my very best to not drag other people’s holidays down, but it’s really hard for me to see all the happyhappylookathowHAPPYwearedamnit pictures all over the place and the showing off of gifts and all that stuff. I would love to just skip over everything from Nov 1 til about mid January.

I think a big part of it might be the commercialization of the holidays, especially Christmas. When I became Muslim and stopped celebrating it, it was such a HUGE relief not to be facing the financial burden of having to buy a bunch of gifts. I do miss the tree & ornaments & stuff though… Nowadays, since Muslims also revere Jesus (a.s.) as a prophet, I use the Christmas season to reflect on his life and how it changed the world.

Anyway, my family is spread far & wide so, thankfully, I don’t have to deal with dysfunctional family gatherings. ;)