Janie Boschma

[Editor’s note: This is half of the Christmas counterpoint debate, click here for photo editor Emily Hartwig’s take on Christmas.]

It’s that time of year again. Trees are all lit up, presents are wrapped, people are singing Christmas carols and I roll my eyes so much that I’m afraid they might get stuck in an awkward position.

I’ll just come out and say it – I’m a Grinch, a Scrooge, if you will. I’m not sure where it comes from, but I like to blame it on my father’s unceremonious revelation that Santa Claus didn’t exist – “You know Santa isn’t real right? But don’t tell your friends, it might upset them.”

Christmas is a Christian holiday, but it didn’t start that way. It’s generally accepted that Jesus was born sometime in the spring, and that Christians just moved the celebration in order to help convert the pagans. The holiday isn’t what we were taught when we were children. I have a hard time accepting that, but maybe it’s just me.

Don’t get me wrong, there are aspects of the holiday that I like, such as the break from school and spending time with my family. But I cherish any time with my family, with or without a holiday.

I think Scrooges and Grinches have gotten a bad reputation. We’ve been unfairly vilified. A lot of us try to be cheery at Christmas. I myself resolve every year to get into the Christmas spirit, but fail after about an hour. This year I’ve decided to just accept I don’t like Christmas and not waste that hour, when the absurdity of the holiday just takes over.

For example, no other time of the year is it OK to put a huge display of reindeer and a man in a suit on your lawn. Parents take children to sit on the lap of a strange man, when any other time of the year if a man in a red suit asked them if they had been naughty or nice they’d be screaming “pedophile!” at the top of their lungs. If the kid starts yelling things such as “stranger danger” or “he’s not my daddy!” exactly as they were taught, their parents apologize profusely. I don’t get it.

I do enjoy convincing my nephew and niece that Santa is coming, just because they get so excited. But I’m pretty sure if at any other time of the year I told the two of them that a fat man was going to break into our house via our nonexistent chimney, my sister would have my head.

Maybe it’s also because the toys seem to get worse and worse each year. I remember getting a Skip-It and modestly dressed dolls for Christmas. I didn’t get a doll in a tube top and a mini-skirt and my mother certainly didn’t trample people to get me a toy that had a grand mal seizure when you poked at it. I think we are both better people for it.

Don’t even get me started on Christmas music. I worked in a grocery store for two years, so I am completely ruined by Christmas music. Listening to the same eight songs sung by 20,000 different people for two months can make a person crazy. Every time I hear “Feliz Navidad” I cannot be held responsible for my actions. I’d put in earplugs, but it’s hard to keep them in wherever you go.

Then there’s the effect on the environment. Having Christmas lights up uses extra electricity. Wrapping paper adds a lot of waste when it’s not really needed. Extra travel adds to carbon dioxide emissions.

Now I know I can’t stop a lot of people from decorating or traveling, so I researched some energy efficient options that can help the environment over the holidays.

First, switch to Light Emitting Diode lights, more commonly known as LEDs. These lights use up to 90 percent less of the energy used by regular lights. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans use about 2220 Gigawatt hours during the 30-day holiday period. If 20 percent of the population changed to LEDs, that would save 440 GW hrs.

As far as trees go, it’s better to have a real one, rather than an artificial one. A lot of Christmas trees are grown specifically for that purpose and can be renewed. But if an artificial tree is a necessity, then make sure you can find one that will last for a long time, and can be recycled later.

One more tip for the environment – wrap your gifts simply. The box in a box in a box idea is always funny, but think of all the waste you are creating. A simply wrapped gift is just as nice, and puts a lot less in the landfills.

Maybe one year I’ll decide I like Christmas. People have been trying to convince me for years, and I’m sure they will keep trying. But until then, I’ll just put in my earplugs and sit in a corner until January.