Does anyone else really hate this time of year ?

Pity my dead daughter hadn't read your post before she took her life Paddyann

Hugs annie.

There are several posters who are grieving, one has to wait until 27th December for her husbands funeral, one whose husband died in March is not looking forward to the day, one whose husband died just weeks ago , several have buried their beloved children, damn insensitive to speak of being in the ground and it is more than sad , it rips you in bits and there are moments when you want to join them

No more to say, thank you niggly and cornergran for remembering some of us are grieving x x

Me too annie.

Hugs that is.

And hugs to you niggly, nah have a Welsh Cwtsh x

not everyone who said they hate christmas is recently bereaved Annie but well done for bringing it all back to you ....we know you've had a tough time but some people just need to realise how lucky they are and have some fun

And some people just need to realise they have no business telling anyone how to react to Christmas

Honestly paddyann, I can't believe you've just posted such an insensitive comment - words fail me!

Some don't understand having fun is not a law , some choose a quiet time. And I think everyone here knows they will die so don't need telling as if it's breaking news n

I have to be doing something I enjoy for it to be fun. No point telling me to go out drinking because it would be fun. It wouldn't be for me, likewise other things that people enjoy. My not liking it doesn't stop them from loving it. Just the same for Christmas. Not my idea of fun, apart from the dinner. It's not compulsory to enjoy it.

to Annie and all the others who have lost a loved one, it doesn't take too much imagination to understand that such a bereavement will be harder to bear at Christmas.

Thank you I named myself but was thinking of others who are grieving too, it wasn't for me to name them. X

To Annie, to Maw, who are recently bereaved and to the many others less recently. Please ignore ignorant posts

No paddyann, anniebach did NOT bring it all back to HER, but yet again somebody sees fit to kick a person (figuratively speaking) when they are down
The reference to being a long time dead and in the ground ranks as one of the most ill-chosen and insensitive I have heard in the circumstances.
Hattie and I have just come back from our daily walk up to our village churchyard to “see Daddy” in the ground as you so charmingly put it, but I am not bitter, nor will I say I “hate this time of year” because I know all too well how life can turn on a sixpence. I will not wish the weeks and months away, I wish I could relive the Christmases of the past and perhaps I would have treasured them more.
To rant against the razzmatazz of Christmas is a personal CHOICE and there are some who are only too willing to moan and groan like Marley’s ghost.
For some of us it will be a time of reflection, of memories, of joy we have known and yes, of hope for the future, in my case embodied in the happy smiling faces of my grandchildren.
Paw was a man of faith, he loved Christmas and if we were away from home I would have to find him a Mass, usually on Christmas Eve and sometimes miles away if we were in the country, even when he needed 2 sticks to walk the shortest distance.
I gave THANKS for those Christmases and I am sure I am not alone.
Christmas will be what YOU make it - for some the hardest one they will know, to others I would just say do not take it for granted. ? ?

MawBroon - you get my award for Woman of Courage of the year (and many previous years). You have been inspirational as a loving carer for Paw and you have come to the aid of Anniebach who was obviously distressed by some comments.
Thanks for bringing this back to faith, by referring to Paw's love of Christmas and his attendance at Mass over the Christmas periods, even when you were away from home and walking was a challenge for him.
I know many people don't share the Christian faith, or indeed any faith and that's entirely up to them. For those for whom Christmas is more than a period of huge indulgence, stress and resentment I say, Happy Christmas one and all xxx

Well said Iam,

Oh boy.... one moment we were all having an interesting discussion comparing the different and varied reasons some of us don't like xmas, then next moment someone smugly lectures us on lightening up and going with the flow and next moment a war has broken out about which reason for not liking xmas is the most worthy one. The internet specialises in this sort of escalation :D

Maniac thanks for mentioning that,
Sadly this is 8th Xmas we won't see our beloved daughter or 3 little Grandaughters
?For everyone in that painful boat and recently bereaved.
We are looking forward to Xmas with our dear son albeit 185 journey
We lost our darling King Charles Rosie in October I know it's not In Same league as losing dh apologies if insensitive to those who have.
However she was a huge comfort to me especially last 8 years andwas 15 and half! I miss her dreadfully.

With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer. It's the most wonderful time of the year

Can I just say evennbefore estrangement I got so fed up with commercial hype and gift books in every blessed paper from ablutmseptember onwards.

I love receiving cards from old friends and decorating our tree ? and attending Xmas carols at local free church despite being catholic they are so welcoming!
However all this want want want from kids and commercial hype bah humbug?

Commiserations on losing Rosie celebgran , we lost Gracie in May and I was in bits.
But you are right, losing your life partner is in an entirely different league.

Sorry to hear u lost Gracie mawbroon?.

I am not even going to think of heartache of losing life partner.

However yes losing Rosie was trigger after major spinal surgery I. August to me getting depressed that god do recognised it and am climbing back up slowly it was just last straw.

Inge You have put it in a nutshell. We really should have had two separate threads - one for Christmas lovers and one for haters, though I suspect that most of us are somewhere in between - missing lost/absent loved ones (and pets), scoring departed old friends off the Card list, adjusting to new arrangements for the day itself, coping with illness, finding the shopping/wrapping/cooking too draining, especially in the freezing weather we have had, but trying to make a Merry Christmas 'for the children'.

I really wish I had not come on to this thread at all, because the overload of raw sorrow and grief is too much for me to bear. Paddyann (who has troubles of her own) should have started another thread to celebrate the joys of Christmas, reminding us that the festival is designed to bring light, fun and laughter into the darkest of days.

As I have written on many cards this year:

May the Spirit of Christmas bring you peace and comfort in your sorrow

Paddyann That is a very tactless comment to make on an open forum. Some of us here have experienced bereavement; some know we will experience it very soon. You don't know our personal circumstances and have turned what should have been a lighthearted chat about our feelings at the over-hyping of Christmas into something which has unnecessarily upset several of us.