Something positive... no, really... What?!
I have to admit, for all my cynicism and depressing randomness in this space-o-ranting, I have to admit how hard it is to feel bad on this day of all days.
I love Christmas, even without being the religious sort of person. There's just so little to dislike; the 'holy' side of it is usually pleasant without being overpowering, and the sight of ornaments on a fresh pine tree brings a bright smile to my face every time. I even love the endless specials and movies, from A Charlie Brown Christmas to Miracle on 34th Street (the original :P) to the multitude of versions of A Christmas Carol*.
True, the songs they play in the store I work at are pretty annoying, but I can tune those out well enough; and people get generally grouchy, but no moreso than the rest of the year (they just are grouchy in larger quantities**). And for every Christmas in Connecticut there's a Santa With Muscles or remake of Miracle on 34th Street (watch me shudder in horror). But honestly, since getting rid of cable, I can shrug those off with no worries.
And I don't discount greed and self-interest, but I find it less of a powerful factor in this season. I am interested in what I get, but I'm much more eager to see the excited looks on my friends and family's faces when they open their gifts and see what I got them. I love shopping for gifts, and making others, and the eternally sloppy ritual of attempting to wrap gifts in paper that never truly looks nice and neat. I love coming up with new ideas to interest and excite those I know, and hunting for the right gift. To me, it's less of the 'oooh, I want that' factor, and more the notion of appreciation. I love giving gifts, and I love having a reason to give them; it's a sign of appreciation and respect, something that's a small favor of thanks to follow up the rest of the year, and some way of saying 'I couldn't have made it without you'.
I guess, all in all, what I'm trying to say to those couple of you that read this, is have a merry Christmas, and I hope that your cats and dogs enjoy the multitude of wrapping paper to shred and toss about. And I hope the next year will prove to be a marvelous one for us all.
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*The one with Michael Caine and the Muppets is the best one. No, really!
**A woman,running into me in full-force with her shopping cart the other day, instead of apologizing, grumbed F'cking Christmas and continued on her way. Yes, Merry Christmas to you as well! I grinned and called out to her... By the look on her face, I believe I broke her brain on that one