To begin with, you’re complaining about the decoration and music in a store that you’re shopping in. No one forces you to shop there. You can learn to prepare your food at home and save yourself the agony of Christmas decorations any time you wish.

Then you mention the media assaulting your senses with early advertisements and the horrible pressure of holiday wishes. I don’t understand the difference between watching a Christmas commercial and a commercial of another kind. It’s you who’s choosing to sit in front of the television and drink it all in. Why do you sit through commercials you dislike? As for having happy holidays, it’s profoundly stupid to interperet any such sentiment as anything more than what it says.

Then comes the next bit of rubbish:

“It seems that everyone has a reason to give a gift around Christmastime, whether it be for family or for friends.”

I fail to see the problem here. If you don’t want to give people gifts, you don’t have to. I only hope that you don’t fool yourself into thinking that this is some noble endeavor. I don’t notice any objection to receiving gifts here and I’ll bet you like that a lot more.

Again, you decry advertisements that you are subjecting yourself to. You don’t need to watch TV and flip through catalogs and it’s none of your business if anyone else does.

Most Americans can’t afford a lot of things, but smiling isn’t one of them. Furthermore, there’s no law that says you have to give gifts on Christmas. If people experience financial hardship during the holidays, it’s at least voluntary. Besides, advertisements or not, people who are less fortunate than you have no such qualms about material goods. If you have anything you can spare, donate it to the good will.

As for depression rates rising around Christmas? how about some evidence on that. People aren’t getting annoyed with Christmas being “shoved in their face”. People do this to themselves. People buy products willingly. Despite all your talk, you would pitch a fit if you had to relinquish your Ipod and cellphone. You would scream if your clothes were distributed to poor people. This country is materialistic because it can afford to be. If you spent one day in the third world, you would come to appreciate material goods a bit more.

Or maybe not. It’s certainly possible to be not want things and be happy. However, this is of one’s personal concern. If you don’t want something, why should it bother you if others do?

At any rate, maybe you’ve overlooked this because you don’t work, (or celebrate Christmas, I believe)but no one’s relieved when the holiday season is over. going back to work is more depressing that watching annoying commercials and having people give you crap.