I Hate The Holidays

Yes, I said it, “I hate the holidays.”

The winter holidays, are especially gruesome for me.

There was a time when I loved Thanksgiving and Christmas. I felt them to be heartwarming festive gatherings. They were extended-weekends, of: soft cozy sweaters and crackling fireplaces; soft-lit rooms, brightened by electric “starlight.” Family and friends would raise their “personal bar of charm,” becoming especially entertaining, or funny. Woo-hoo… good times. Holiday food? O yes. I confess. I enjoyed, even, carnivorous dishes, in those days. Many, many vegans… have that story to tell: of being an innocent unsuspecting child, who did not realize they were… sporting oblivious-ness. I did not realize that I was oblivious to……… horror……… to the horror of being a turkey, a pig, a goose, or a grouse…… impaled…… on the end of someone’s dinner fork. Obviously, as a child, I was not programmed to question… my parents’ arms… the crib of Mother Earth… that received my birth… it all merely felt like, an extension of… me. Why would a child doubt… the very world, itself? Ok, moving on.

In 2014, I became vegan. Compassion for animals, overwhelmed me… so animal-advocacy was my transforming motive. But, as a new vegan, the plants-only-diet…… the vegan “food” itself…… began speaking to my soul.

I awakened to………….. one hypocritical-absurdity after another…………… that had been lurking in plain sight……………… permeating the social-norms of my very own homeland. I saw America giving thanks, over murdered beings, that were eaten for food. The plentiful harvest, of America’s grains, greens, vegetables, and beans… was neglected by humans… and put to the systematic “fattening” of animals, who were lined-up and marched into… slaughterhouses… as into a holocaustic gas chamber. How disgusting is that classic image, of: a chef… on grand entrance, into a dining hall, with a raised platter in the hands -displaying a corpsedecorated with spices, and roasted to a golden brown, intended to… turn you into a cannibal. What a horrific scenario. How can we, all, have been duped into believing that these……….. …barbaric attitudes… supply us with: goodness and legitimate fun?

Once I adapted myself to a vegan lifestyle, I saw brutal-deceit, within our holiday traditions, so now… I hate the holidays.

Therefore,……… Christmas… to me…?...... All I can think of is …the loss of so many innocent lives… by adding, extra-over-indulgence, to an already grotesque habit, that occurs all year long.

How did that fond traditional meal become the eating of… pigs, cows, deer, lambs, chickens…… beautiful creatures…… all of whom, wanted to live? The thought brings me to tears, every time. How can people………… recite blessings………… and raise glasses……… in “celebration” ………while participating in such horrors?

When ‘complete-compassion’ (i.e., veganism) becomes “the reason for the season” …I will love holidays, again.