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Christmas Archetypes: Do you relate more to Christ, Scrooge or Santa?

‘Bah humbug!’ pretty much sums up my version of Christmas spirit. And I know that when my mother reads this I’ll get an email admonishing me on my negativity and full of confusion as to why I feel this way (sorry Mom). You see, Christmas at our house was always great – we had the lights, the tree, the family gathered to celebrate, the gifts, the butterball turkey and occasionally we even made it to midnight mass.

So why is it every time the holiday season rolls around I find myself researching alternative therapies for stress and anxiety relief? I’ve tried various remedies over the years to deal with my irrational aversion, ranging from cognitive behavioural therapy to escaping the country on vacation (which doesn’t work – they will insist that you celebrate before you go on holiday and you’ll just spend your week at the beach writhing in guilt, or recovering from the mock-Christmas celebrations).

I think most of us fall into one of three categories when it comes to Christmas. In fact, over the next few weeks I know I will find myself relating to each of the holiday archetypes on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis.

Christ

It’s all about the ‘real’ reason for Christmas, the man himself. To you the holidays represent a time for sharing, helping those less fortunate, spreading joy, true compassion and tolerance. The JC’s of Christmas will usually have a nativity scene somewhere on the property, can be found at the local soup kitchen on Christmas eve and will ever-so-subtly nudge us to remember why this holiday is happening in the first place – it’s the ‘spirit’ of Christmas that counts and they embody it.

Personally, I have found that for the most part, Christmas with the JC-type requires the most tolerance from those around them. Seriously, it’s pretty draining to stay that positive when people start waxing poetic on how meaningless the whole holiday has become, or give you your Virgin Mary decoration gift back because they took up yoga and decided they liked Buddha better. The JC’s of Christmas should be cherished. After all, can it really hurt to be loving, compassionate and giving for a few weeks?

Santa

You know who you are. You have presents that you bought in June, hidden in the back of your closet and you bought this year’s Christmas cards at last year’s boxing day sale. You have a spreadsheet rivalling that of a Six Sigma project manager which maps out the season – from unpacking the decorations in October to pulling the turkey out of the oven on Christmas day. This time of year is the perfect vehicle for creative expression: cards, cookies, cakes, entertaining, choosing and making gifts, wrapping, cooking, decorating – so many ways to shower your love onto friends and family (and some lucky innocent bystanders).

And the children – this holiday really is for them anyway. Who of us doesn’t look back with fondness (or in some cases, abject fear) at our pictures as children on Santa’s knee? Never mind that Santa actually originated from a legend about a man who came once a year to punish ill-behaved children. We’ll stick with the Rockwellian version – jolly, happy, and branded like a Coca-Cola.

Scrooge

You are convinced the world has gone mad and confused as to why this time of year leaves you feeling drained and grumpy, instead of full of joy and at peace. Maybe Christmas is a Western invention created by a capitalist society to fuel unsustainable consumer gluttony, or an antiquated holiday based in a religion that has very little to do with your own beliefs (or lack thereof). Big guys in red suits, crucifixions, silly carols and malls give you indigestion, or worse, anxiety attacks.

You patiently bear repeated questioning as to why you don’t have a tree and begrudgingly take part in secret Santa exchanges at work, all to avoid having to explain that you think it’s a big crock. The only Christmas miracle you can conceive of would be if Christmas never happened again and was erased from the collective conscious. Ho. Ho. Ha!

What is Christmas to you?

So whether your Christmas mantra is ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’, ‘Ho-ho-ho’, or ‘Bah humbug!’ chances are you’ll be pulled in to the holiday hurricane over the coming weeks. This Christmas I’m faced with confronting my usual Scrooge-like attitude as my husband and I consider how we want our three year old to understand and experience this holiday. As we dig our way through childhood memories and the touchy topics of religion and materialism, we’re beginning to define our own Christmas: a relaxing time for connecting with those we love, in a way that honours our values and beliefs. It’s a bit surprising that we haven’t actually managed to do this before, consciously define what Christmas is to our family, I was probably too busy kicking Santas at the mall and paying for last year’s gifts.

Who knows, maybe we’ll end up celebrating ‘Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us’ instead…

Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season

by Jo Robinson and Jean C. Staeheli

Book: http://www.amazon.com/Unplug-Christmas-Machine-Complete-Putting/dp/0688109616/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227040868&sr=1-1