This time of year is quite special for most people. The season is changing, where winter is officially here. It is a time of family, friends, sharing and general caring for those around you. There are those moments where everyone seems genuinely happy for the company and are more interested in the act of giving than receiving. It is a nice time of year, though I only wish it would last longer than the brief period of a few weeks leading up to the most consumer-oriented holiday of the year.

Now, I need to just put this out there. I am not one for most holidays, or let me clarify, gift-purchasing holidays. Now, I understand my lack of care on a few particular days throughout the year can be interpreted as me being an asshole. I acknowledge this. However, I feel my lack of interest in abiding with the generally accepted notion that I must purchase something for someone on said day because it is the norm, should be viewed as somewhat distinct from my lack of caring for that person.

Growing up, the friends in my neighborhood where I lived were Jehovahs Witnesses. Not being many kids my age lived just a few blocks from me, leaving me with little option in who I could hang out with, and besides religious beliefs, we were all into the same things. Spending a little time in their households gave me a little insight into their religion. Mainly, Witnesses don't celebrate most holidays, especially gift giving ones. Of course, I was a bit shocked at this being younger and more oriented with who has what, but they offered up how they saw it. My friend simply told me, ' What does it matter if we don't get something on one particular day? We get stuff all year round.'

I liked this statement, and now a few years down the road with what I would like to think is a slightly wiser perspective on things, it still rings true. If I am going to buy things for someone, I want to do so because I am thinking of them and would like to, not because it is some that day of the year where I must buy something really nice. I wish it was christmas or whatever holiday all year round, where when someone sees something and thinks of someone else, they can get them a gift, instead of saying that there is one day where we have to.

That is my viewpoint on the holidays. It is just a frenzy of purchasing without any realization of why they are consuming other than it's what you are supposed to do. That lack of thought reflects that material course this society has gone and I personally don't want to buy into that. My other problem is that this leads to me not fully realizing that not everyone shares my viewpoint on this, and I need share my opinions so that I may be understood. Hence, this blog.

So, I am not a big purchaser. I don't go buy crazy gifts for people on those certains days of the year we are supposed to. (Birthdays are a bit different, and more special) I try and show that I care for whoever, however throughout the whole year. This year in particular has been nice. Simple things, some serious enjoyment in seeing other people recieve things that they genuinely like that didn't cost anything, and just spending time with people and everyone trying to and getting along. That is what this time of year, and the other times of year, should be about.