Make no mistake: the holidays really piss me off. Don’t get me wrong; spending time with friends and family, giving them gifts, eating like a pig…that’s all great. It’s the damn holiday season in general that infuriates me.
Halo 2. Half-Life 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Paper Mario & the Thousand-Year Door. Aside from being the Season of the Sequel, a slew of other great games have been released over the past few months, as well as a new piece of gaming hardware (the Nintendo DS). As a result, the gift-giving season is even more insane than usual. I’ve literally seen parents fighting over the last few copies of games. Swearing, threatening, you name it. This isn’t even in a Wal-Mart, either; this is in your average American mall.
I can sympathize with Ebenezer Scrooge when I see all of this mess. Christmas in particular has lost all meaning; it’s nothing but one giant commercialized holiday. It no longer has anything to do with religion, nor has it for many years. If God’s got anything to do with it, it’s only because “In God We Trust” is printed on our money. The sales are what matters! Sales! Sheesh.
Once the holidays are past, things will be marginally better; we’ll have to deal with the return-crappy-gifts crowds, but it’s still a step up. Then we can relax for ten months, and repeat the whole sordid process all over again. Ugh.