Christmas Burnout

With the sheer amount of how much has happened this year, it would be an understatement to say that no one has been prepared for the holidays. And with Christmas around the corner, it feels as though holiday cheer is but a faint memory. Trees still go up and yards are decorated like no tomorrow, but the sensation many get from the joyous holiday just isn’t there as it has been in years past. 

But why is this? Better yet, what can we do to alleviate this? 

Despite how exhausted the topic is, COVID has most definitely been a heavy variable in the apathetic plague known as Christmas burnout. The stresses of regulations, losing family and friends, and ultimately keeping up to date with things can bear a toll on anyone regardless of stance on the issue. This pairing with making ends meet more so than usual and the anxiety one may get from current events are smaller things that can weigh on many with baggage and stress.  

Times are truly hard, and there is no doubt about that. But as nature is, humans love being happy and celebrating that same sense of unity and community that comes every December. How could one exactly do that this year? Well, the most passive and realistic explanation would be to let time take its course. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and especially so after its republic burned down to the ground. As what was once holiday cheer turned to rubble, something greater can rise out of the ashes. Humans persevere no matter the conditions. What seems like Christmas burnout now will bring a fire ever brighter than it was before. Just hold that in heart this season and those of next. Bad times truly never last, and the holiday season proves that perfectly.