Ho Ho No

Being honest about my lack of festive feeling doesn’t make me popular

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash with edits by the author

Last week I let slip a secret I hadn’t even realized I’d been hiding. I hadn’t gone to great lengths to cover it up, but looking back, I had made some efforts to fake it for the sake of making some people happier. This year, I’ve been trying to live more authentically, and without intending to, I’d dropped one particular lie. I casually told my parents that I don’t love Christmas.

Big. Mistake.

Knowing me better than myself — Not!

“Yes you do!”

My Mum insisted, adamant that I do not know my own feelings on the subject. I may not be the most skilled individual when it comes to sensing tone, however, I recognized this one well. It was her ‘joking but not at all joking’ tone.

Even when I reiterated that I, in fact, do not love it, she continued to tell me that I do. When this didn’t serve to change my mind, she told my Dad, who was right there and had heard the conversation thus far, what I had said. He, understandably, seemed unfazed, causing me to doubt his holiday love, but that’s another story.

When I think about this conversation now, she didn’t have any facts to back up her determined argument. For most of us, this would be a sign that maybe we’re barking up…