What's so "Merry" about Christmas?

I cannot stand "Christmas".

No, let me rephrase that, I fucking HATE Christmas.

Call me a grinch, call me a scrooge, call me whatever you want, but it's a stance you're not going to change.

I can say that my hatred of Christmas is in a small way correlated with the death of my brother in 1986 4 days after Christmas. But that, as they say, is the tip of the iceberg.

I hate the fact that people get together and actually give a shit whether someone's starving or not for one day out of the year, while the other 364 don't matter.

I hate the fact that family members who curse each other's name the rest of the year get together for 24 hours of pretense, which only supplies them with more ammunition for their hatred the remainder of the year.

I hate the fact that it has become a source of division and contention in this day and age (as opposed to WW1, when the armies actually LAID DOWN THEIR ARMS for Christmas on one memorable occasion).

I hate the fact that it has become an excuse for flagrant excess and crass commercialism.

and yet...

I love the fact that a few cheap lights can bring a smile to the face of an innocent child.

I love the fact that there is one day out of the year when people actually DO care for the hungry and homeless, and it's not just a self righteous act.

I love the fact that Christmas, for so many, is the one barely glimmering ray of hope that keeps their family from being utterly dissolved.

I love the cheap construction paper cards that litter the refrigerators and hallways of every home with school age children.

I love the smile on the face of shut ins when Christmas carolers come to visit.