The clinch with the Grinch
5 moments in which even Christmas grouches get in the mood
© Victoria Chudinova / Shutterstock
The same fun every year: While some can hardly hold back their joy at the festival, others turn out to be real Christmas grouches. Don’t worry, we’ve got Grinche medicine under us …
In the middle of October I usually ask myself for the first time when I can start listening to Christmas music. I am already aware that nobody will deny me access to my loudspeaker, especially not because I live alone, but I still want to choose the time carefully. I want to get as much out of the Christmas spirit as possible. That means that I shouldn’t start too late, but by no means too early – afterwards I’ll be fed up with the doodle at the end of December, and that would really not be in the interests of contemplation. The latter is much less noticeable for others anyway, as I also have to discover every year.
Even the friendliest people suddenly mutate into Christmas grouch at the end of the year. Often times they are the ones you least expect to have a little Grinch in them. They are all the more amused about my indignation. You don’t like advent How can you not like Christmas? Usually, the conversations at this point split into two branches: Either the questions are grumbled away unanswered and I prefer to crawl into my Christmas house by myself so as not to get on anyone’s nerves. Or it ignites the annual discussion about whether Christmas is a consumption construct or a celebration of love. The latter ends in the worst case with the fact that otherwise well suppressed consumer-critical opinions on my part gain the upper hand and suddenly one Christmas grouch has brought out the Grinch in the other.
Nothing there! I really don’t want to let it get that far this year, because I think we can really use the Christmas spirit, consumer criticism and kitsch or not. So I do my best – and secretly stage five moments in which even Christmas grouches could inadvertently get into the mood.
5 moments to secretly get Christmas grouches in the mood
1. That one Christmas carol from the past
I play carol bingo. It works like this: How many Christmas carols do you know? One is named alternately, at best, intoned. The mood comes at the latest with “the one song that we always sang at XY back then”. Ha!
2. Make cinnamon and tangerines accomplices
How fascinating is our nose actually? The sense organ is underestimated when it comes to its position to put us in certain moods. Because smells have a special effect on us, extra biscuits are often baked in the kitchen before viewing the house. Smells like home. Smart, right? The tangerine for dessert, the cinnamon as a spice in the soup, the fir tree in the arrangement, you feel a bit Christmassy without it becoming too kitschy.
3. Fondle traditions
What exactly Christmas means for someone differs from person to person. All the more exciting: Because there are many traditions to discover that reveal something about family history. If we include them in our current plans, you can relive a bit of childhood – for example in the form of a certain classical piece, mutual writing of poems or, if you like, going to church.
4. Play Nicholas
Speaking of childhood … why do you stop with some gimmicks when you grow up? Playing Santa Claus, secretly filling the shoe with fairy lights and sweets at night that you would otherwise be too sensible for – is fun regardless of age. The shimmering light in the dark morning makes tiredness disappear and arouses childish curiosity. What is glowing there?
5. Get out of the Christmas kitsch
Now, as a Christmas friend, I have to say – if you force something too much, it won’t work. But what really creates the Christmas spirit, if you understand it as contemplation, a little peace and time with the people you love, is to turn your back on it all. To drive out. Takes the load off the Christmas grouch, who feels pressured by our Advent escalation, and brings Grinch and followers back together.