Christmas is...not quite over

I hope my readers enjoyed their Christmas, that it did not bring with it the knowledge that they have neglected family and friends for the preceding year, the fact that they spent more money than they should have and that the recipients were less than grateful. I have often found that holidays make me retrospective and I can't say my thoughts are the cause of celebration most times. Christmas often finds me depressed for those reasons listed above, and vowing to change my ways in the year to come, I am grateful for New Year's, if only to make those resolutions. I have not enjoyed Christmas for quite a few years, although I enjoy the time spent with my family and even the pleasure they get from the gifts I have purchased for them. What I don't like is that Christmas is a retail holiday, created to bring money into the coffers of the industry and has nothing whatever to do with the religious aspect it claims to honor. Jesus did not have a Walmart in his life, nor did he have a ski lodge where he could spend the week. The incredible amounts of money spent during the holiday season does nothing to teach our younger generation the meaning of the spirit of giving. The result that I see most often is that of a spoilt child carrying on because they did not get what they wanted or they simply want more. The spirit of Christmas is a ghostly specter that appears only to those who are sensitive to the vibration of the universe, the collective sigh of a world deprived of simple, unconditional joy.