Once again, Christmas is over more quickly than it began. It wasn’t as enjoyable as previous ones, continuing a sad trend in holiday celebrations as family and other dynamics come into play.

I keep wondering if the seasonal retail push which starts around late summer tends to take the celebratory edge off this holiday. We all joke about how the shops start pushing Christmas paraphernalia along with Halloween and that started with back-to-school items around July 4th. Each year, the merchandising mayhem starts earlier and earlier. Sometimes I question why we have calendars marking holidays each year given the retail markets move with a totally different game plan.

For me, the magic has disappeared. Maybe it’s just getting older along with dealing with familial divides that have resulted in empty chairs around the dining room table. A large part is the absence of happy little feet and active imaginations bounding through the door and heading straight for our gigantic tree. Even that tree, once festooned with precious ornaments, along with decorations tucked everywhere else in the house, has taken a huge minimalist step back. Piles of gifts that overwhelmed the living room are no more, they’ve been replaced by gift cards or checks tucked into a letter or holiday card.

I’m a realist, aware that many of us can never again enjoy those wondrous feelings and beliefs. After a certain age Christmas stops feeling as it used to because our brain develops and stop functioning as it did when we were young children. Christmas is so magical and fills our hearts with warmth and comfort because as children that’s how we stored it in our memories. But as we grow older we start producing more cognitive thoughts. Children are so happy because they don’t process things the same way. Everything is surface level, what you see is what you get. We get older and even though holidays like Christmas come around, life still goes on. We have the same problems, the same pain, etc. We didn’t have those problems at Christmas as children. Christmas was just Christmas: a time for gifts and great food and beautiful surroundings. We had no worries or stress. We don’t have that luxury as adults. It’s sad, but it’s just true.

Yes, Christmas is over and there are few good memories to look back upon. I keep thinking about why this has turned into just another day; where did the merry go?

From the Writer’s Workshop: How was your Christmas? Was it as good as previous ones? Tell us!