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How to Prevent a Blue Christmas
| Article
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10364 |
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Section : |
Life
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
2,413 Words |
| Author
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Rise Jill Miller
Rise Jill Miller, a former network radio correspondent, is a
freelance journalist living in Washington, D.C. |
Americans start dreaming of a white Christmas long before Jack Frost starts nipping at our noses. Not long after summer time is packed up and sent off for another year, thoughts begin to turn to turkeys and stuffing, twinkling lights, big-bowed presents, and parties with egg nog. The big Christmas countdown begins just after Thanksgiving with merchandisers reminding you several times a day just how little time you have left to do your Christmas shopping for all those friends and relatives.
Though Christmas traditionally means Santas, sleigh bells, and snowmen, it's not a Ho! Ho! Ho! time for everyone. It's a blue Christmas for many of us because the holidays don't always bring good tidings and good cheer. Many Americans spend the holidays alone and lonely, remembering better times and circumstances. Others can't deal with the break neck pace of Christmas shopping...stores crammed with buyers and lines at registers as long as Santa's sleigh. Still others mourn the passing of loved ones or that they don't have the money for toy trains or trained puppies. For some, Christmas is a time of coping not caroling.
Lifted Spirits
Not everyone's holiday is spent singing around the fireplace. Many of us sing the blues from November through January for reasons ranging from the loss of family to the loss of a Christmas bonus. Christmas can actually lead people to drink more than eggnog, leaving them crashed and dashed on "Jingle Bell Rock." Dr. Ellen Casper, a clinical psychologist with Behavior Management Associates in Cleveland, Ohio, says there are ways to shake those Christmas blues and blahs. Casper admits the holidays help to dredge up old
... (1994 of 13674 Characters)
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