Ready to feel festive?

Canvas notifications keep popping up, you are always freezing, and your bed suddenly becomes your favourite spot in the whole world… it feels like not even mulled wine can improve the situation. Let’s be serious, who even thinks about Christmas anymore when it feels like the whole world is crumbling?

This is why, when my friends told me “How come you haven’t picked the Christmas article? IT’S SO YOU!”, I felt low-key offended. Yes, I may be the most christmassy person you’ll ever meet, but is this the time to be feeling festive?

For me, yes. I don’t think it’s even Christmas that gets me hyped; I reckon it’s the excitement of having something to look forward to. To be honest, when I look back at previous Christmases, it wasn’t the family get-togethers, the presents or the food that filled my heart with joy, it was the anticipation, the constant cosiness that I felt throughout the whole month of December. 

That being said, considering the current situation, I think that excitement is more important than ever. Although it seems like life was put on pause during the last months, having something to look forward to will certainly help. Darlene Love may have said, “Childhood dreaming is a thing of the past” in All alone on Christmas but I, shamelessly, believe that that’s up to us.

Still, I am aware that Christmas is not a happy period for all of us, and that it can be a stressful time. And, if that’s your case, don’t feel pressured to enjoy it. In fact, I think that in 2020, more than ever, you are allowed to celebrate or not celebrate Christmas the way you want to. 2020 is already the biggest Grinch of all so there is no shame in not feeling festive, and no one should be allowed to call you Grinch for tha

So, there is no right and wrong: whether you feel like baking all the gingerbread and blasting Last Christmas (while crying because you miss Christmas markets and overpriced mulled wine) or if you want this holiday to just pass- you do what feels best for you.

Sofia Chiscop

Some things never change; or so could one think. However, 2020 has shown us that no matter how certain something may seem, the situation can change as rapidly as if someone just pressed a button. Time has frozen, yet at the same time it flies like never before.

This has been both the longest and the shortest year of our lives. Some people are still stuck in March, just like my brother’s calendar. We had no proper Easter, no proper summer, even the beginning of the academic year was different. We had to get used to the new norm. Most of us like some kind of routine; we want to know what to expect. Plans made months in advance, especially for holidays, have gone out of the window. No wonder we are not looking forward to Christmas. We may feel robbed of our possible memories, and that is absolutely understandable.

Not even all the Christmas advertising can lift our mood. Christmas is a family holiday in the first place!  Who knows whether we’ll be able to go to see our family and relatives at all. Will we have to send Christmas presents by mail and have a Zoom Christmas dinner? I don’t know about you, but that’s not Christmas to me.

I’m aware that there’s no one to blame; we’re in a global pandemic. And even if we don’t feel festive, it’s okay; our emotions are valid. We should keep our heads up though, we can enjoy what we have anyway. And perhaps we’ll pick up from where we left off, in March 2021.

Lenka Minarovicova

Feature Image: Pixabay @JillWellington