As a native New Yorker there is nothing I love more than watching everyone muster up some holiday spirit. But is it even possible to have some holiday spirit in New York? With all the bright lights, decorations, Christmas trees lined up on the corners and the cold weather, how could we not be in the spirit? It’s pretty simple. With all the attempts to prepare New York City for the holidays, it’s still the same face paced New York City we all love and hate. The subways are still packed, people are still incredibly mean, and everyone is still rushing and living in their own world. It will become obvious to you that I love Christmas and everything about the winter season. But one thing's for sure, I absolutely hate spending Christmas in New York.
To me Christmas in New York is like a fake Christmas. Everything is set up on the exterior but on the interior nothing is warm and genuine. It looks like you’re living in a winter wonderland but you’re not really feeling the sensations of living in a magical place. So then what’s the fun? There’s no real fun if you’re spending seven days a week running back and forth between your classes and your job. In a sense I’m jealous of the tourists who get to experience everything New York has to offer during the holidays without a single care in the world. I, on the other hand, get to run past the Bloomingdales windows without even takinga moment to stop and look at new holiday decorations. Sometimes I wonder if New York has changed me. Am I purposefully coming up with excuses to avoid catching any holiday spirit? Am I really becoming another New York City a**hole? Am I too old for Christmas?
Age is just a number and although there are times that I act older than I really am, I know that I’m never going to be too old for Christmas. You can never be too old for Christmas, it’s for the kids and it’s for the adults. But as you grow up you find yourself disconnecting from the youthful energetic and giddy holiday spirit. It’s not that you’re turning into the Grinch or Mr. Scrooge, it’s that you find a new meaning for Christmas and a new way to celebrate it. At this age I’m not necessarily concerned with what I’m going to wake up under my tree on Christmas morning. Instead I’m more concerned about managing my money to buy meaningful gifts for the people I love the most and of course, do some bar hopping during the holidays.
With age comes new responsibilities and with new responsibilities comes absolutely zero free time to enjoy the holidays. You’re still running through the streets of Manhattan with an important destination to get to. Unfortunately, you can’t take a leisurely walk to Rockefeller Center and see the Christmas tree that all of the tourists are willing to die for. Instead you’re running to catch a subway that will take you far away from the fun and towards your responsibilities.
Us New Yorkers are relatively smart (when it comes to some things). For instance, we avoid holiday tourist spots at all costs, especially if we’re rushing to get to class or to work. We do this to eliminate an ounce of stress that would be caused by pushing through massive crowds on 5th Avenue. We do this in order not to let our inner demon come out because once it does we know that all hell will break loose. There may be no way to recollect ourselves.
I know it’s the Christmas season but I definitely don’t feel any holiday spirit. There may be several reasons for this: I’ve waited weeks to write a 20 page paper, I added a job in retail to my already full plate and I haven't bought a single Christmas gift. I may as well be going insane at this point. Maybe it's the stress, maybe it's the fact that I have to ride the subway in the cold during rush hour or maybe it's because I haven't taken a second to stop and admire the beautiful decorations.
I travel through Grand Central everyday and of course, I didn't realize there were decorations until I was told about them. It just so happens that when you're caught up in your own life you forget to look at what's going on around you, and living in New York will do that to you. After all, Christmas comes only once a year. You might as well find some time to enjoy it and milk every ounce of compassion or generosity some random person offers you, because we all know that people are only nice during the holidays.