To say “Christmas is my favorite time of year” is almost an understatement.  I love everything about it.  The Trees, the lights, the excitement of children as Santa appears, I really like the music and the true reason for celebration, the hope that the birth of Jesus Christ gives.  This year I had a great conversation with a friend who was on a very similar page as I am. He too loves the build up and excitement that comes with the season but dislikes the night of Christmas day, and particularly the day after.  This year that feeling has hit me harder than ever before, so much so that 2 days before I sadly told my wife “There are only two days of Christmas music left.”  This has lead me to seriously think about why have I been so bummed about this. Eves dropping (sounds creepy, I know) on people in retail stores, coffee shops, at church and in my normal interactions with individuals I have come up with several reasons why there might be such a let down that hits the night of Christmas day.  These include downtime, excitement let down, a little thing I call Grinch Syndrome and a harsh reality of the New Year.

One of the most common themes I hear is that people are looking for a day off.  Whether that be from work, school or simply from the stresses of everyday life.  People love a day off or for some of the more fortunate days off.  The fact that the one day off is one of the most hectic there is and that Christmas fell on a Sunday this year leads to an even greater let down as many feel “cheated” that they did not get a 3 day weekend.

To say that the Christmas season is full of excitement would be an understatement.  The hustle and bustle of shopping, the beauty of the decorations and the exciting and climactic thrashing of present opening. With all of this now done we all sense a feeling of what now, particularly the children.  I know in our house with a 4 and 6 year old one of the questions was “So, do we get to open more presents tomorrow?” since the reality of the one day event being done was not quite understood completely.

Ah, my favorite! Grinch Syndrome. You all know that one person (at least) that never has any positive comments right? Christmas is the ultimate time for them to complain it seems.  Whether it is the music they hate, the traffic, the turkey being too dry or the Yule log on TV you will hear it.  This is a time that is even better for them than the spirited Christmas lover.  There is an unending amount of things to complain about so when this is over the only thing left is the fact that people still have their Christmas lights on their house after new years and once that wains it is back to the mundane things like weather.

Finally, comes the realization of a New Year.  For many this is a scary thing.  It is the reality that many things people wanted to occur did not happen or the fear of what they will need to or have to do in the coming year to make it better than the last. This all may be due to a lack of personal drive or simply the reality that not everything can occur but let’s be honest, for some there is a fair amount of anxiety that comes with each new day, week, month or even year.

If you fall in to either of these categories and noticed the let down of the holiday season I challenge you to refocus. Center you mind on the positives and what a New Year will bring for you.  Don’t view it as a need to lose weight but instead view it as a health improvement that will make you feel better.  Shift y