- Humbugs and Christmas -

As I'm uploading this, Christmas is a bit two months behind us, but I feel that the poem I wrote for Christmas 2022 was fairly well done.

- Humbugs and Christmas - 

Around the time of year, when the silver bells ring, when stockings are stuffed, when angels sing 

Yes, at Christmas we all think of peace and joy, be it a family dinner or dreaming of a new toy 

Rarely do we stop to think, to even entertain, that Christmas cannot simply stop all tragedy and pain 

Of course, this is not the fault of Christmas, not a bit, but everyone will face the harder times, in whatever situation we may sit 

And so I think of a certain tale, where the holidays become haunted with ghouls, that tells of a grumpy old miser, who hates Christmas and thinks it only for fools 

Yes, a Christmas Carol, in one way or another, has always been about overcoming ourselves and reaching out to each other 

When a ghost named Marley warns his friend Scrooge about his ways, and that he should reconsider how he should spend the rest of his days 

As a child, I often found myself pondering “I understand that this man is trying to change, but why does he keep spouting ‘humbug’ and other such mumblings in the audible range?” 

Well, a humbug is what Scrooge used to describe his hatred of all things and himself, his rage and agony at the elderly man he saw in the mirror, unchanging like a dusty shelf 

Humbugs are those times where we slip on the ice and hit our head, or stub our toe on the edge of the bed 

Humbugs are when you feel like no one can see you, when nobody cares, when nobody wants to love you, when nobody even dares 

Humbugs are when we tell ourselves we can’t, that we aren’t enough, that we should give up, or that we aren’t up to snuff 

Humbugs are when we feel angry at everything and don’t know why, when all you want to do is curl up into a ball and cry 

Why, oh why, do we have to put up with humbugs? Couldn’t we just send them away, make them disappear, turn the world into rainbows and hugs? 

Even if you could get rid of all the humbugs in the universe, I advise against doing that, despite the sting of a person’s words or being knocked down flat 

Because, as hard as it is to feel like you have no friends, or that you don’t fit in, as hard as it is to wake up dreading the day or seeing life as one big sin 

Life would not be good without the humbugs to balance it out, like a cosmic seesaw where we need confidence and doubt 

If there was no darkness, then that means that no light is shining down, and that every down day would feel like an ordinary walk on the town 

Back to Scrooge, his life was full of humbugs, that much is for sure, his family life was hard, and his greed tainted his most true love that was so pure 

He had become so scared of not having money, so afraid to connect with anyone else, he pushed all happiness away and clung to his fine robes and coats and felts 

There are some who feel like hope is long past, that they are beyond saving or that no one will ever be there to last 

Maybe they don’t know how to speak their mind as well as you, or never learned the lessons you did, maybe they weren’t as lucky as you, they never stopped to just be a kid 

So, I ask you all this holiday season, that we do not lose sight of the reason... 

The reason we sing, we dance and play, why we give out gifts and come around the table to pray 

Presents are nice, as are family and friends. Christmas can mean anything to someone whom it mends. When we sit around a tree or let carols flow, the spirit of joy and happy hearts will grow. 

But, to me at least, as the reason we choose to love this time of year, is that Christmas is the time when we forget the humbugs and shed all our fear 

When the world can stand still, we don’t think of the pain, just how grateful we are to have made another 365 days again 

So take all your Christmases, humbugs and all, you won’t realize how important the humbugs were until you stumble and fall, may your days be happy and your pains few, and that next Christmas you can celebrate it anew! 

Merry Christmas!