By Katie Tabeling
Opinion Editor
T’was the week before winter break, and all through the college, the students were brimming with holiday cheer. Pine tree branches decorate railings in the dining hall, and George’s head is rocking his own evergreen necklace. In the library, there’s a very shiny miniature Christmas tree sitting in the corner of the lobby; other buildings also have fake trees, but none are as impressive as that one. If you walk though Chestertown at night, the trees glisten with beautiful lights, lighting the streets with a merry glow. Already the dining hall has hosted a magnificent Christmas feast, and sometime next week, there will be Christmas cookies.
Indeed, Washington College is surging with festive cheer – well, sort of. Despite all the festive decorations and holiday-oriented events occurring on campus, it doesn’t feel that Christmastime has reached WC. In fact, it doesn’t feel like Christmastime at all. While Christmas brings the highly anticipated gift of a month long break, it also delivers an overwhelming sense of terror with the last week of classes and final exams. Instead of reveling in the joy of the winter season by spending time with friends and family, we’re all trapped here at college scrambling to study and finish projects. We are careening towards the end of the semester, only focused on crossing the finish line.
Now, I’m not writing this to complain about finals. Yes, finals suck, but they’re like “Twilight” and pimples: we like to pretend they don’t exist but sooner or later, we all have to deal with them. No one can be held responsible for the timing of finals and end of the semester assignments. But you have to admit; when did December become associated with extreme stress and stop being associated with Christmas joy? In fact, whatever happened to just stopping to enjoy the simple pleasure in it all?
The holidays shouldn’t be a time of anxiety and rushing to the checkered flag. To carefully toe the line of cheesiness, love is neither of those things. Isn’t that what Christmas time is supposed to be about: love? It’s a time where people spend time with their loved ones, whether they are friends or family, no matter where you are. At one point in our lives, we will no longer be able to just get up and see our loved ones. As we grow older, we also grow apart. The holidays are the one time of the year we can all just reconnect. I can’t speak for all WC students, but I have seen my siblings three times since I moved back to college and I am eager see them again. Since we are all growing up and going our own paths, the holidays are more important now than ever.
And to all those material cynics out there, the holidays sure as hell aren’t about the gifts. While it’s awesome to receive gifts, it’s even better to give them. Next time you’re shopping for presents for your parents, siblings, or whoever, try and imagine how their face will light up as they unwrap that gift. If you’ve forgotten, think back to the innocent eagerness we all had when we saw our gifts under the tree. It didn’t matter what they were; all that mattered was whose name was on the address tag. While actually having material goods is nice, the idea that someone cared about you enough to even buy something is a gift in itself.
Personally, I believe the Christmas spirit should not be reserved for one day or a month a year. The thought of goodwill towards men and brotherly love sounds idealistic; but sometimes we all lose sight of that. When trivial things, such as stressful finals, interrupt our lives, it’s easy to forget about what truly matters. Maybe that’s why it’s only once a year; whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, the holiday spirit brings us all back to what we each consider important despite our frantic lives.
From all of us at The Elm, have a very happy holiday and hope you cherish every moment of it.