like all the fuckin ads with the hugging families around winter. any educationally normal adult knows everyone just gets more stressed, with travel and gifts and social obligations and everything, but you’re not even allowed to…openly feel that, it seems? it’s like there’s this happiness benchmark you have to reach, otherwise you’ll feel even shittier and sadder for not having a happy holiday season
In other countries, Japan for example, gift giving is almost automated in their society to the point of being able to pick up simple gifts nearly anywhere, fancy fruit or what have you. When you get the easy gifts out of the way you can focus on those 1-4 people that are significant to you. But that wouldn’t work in the West, gotta buy all the expensive stuff to take that red into black.