Jingle Hell
Christmas night… The family circus is in full swing! Laughter echoes through the house, plastering fake cheer over a night of forced togetherness; and I’m here, sitting among them, pretending to bask in the glow of it all, when in reality, I couldn’t care less. Not about Christmas itself, I mean, lights and mulled wine are fine, but I’m talking about the façade we all put on. . . . The charade starts with the usual suspects: polite smiles, generic compliments, and way too enthusiastic exclamations over gifts that no one actually wanted. “Oh wow, another sweater! You shouldn’t have!”… Yeah, they really shouldn’t. By the time the first bottle of wine is half-empty, the conversations begin to fray; laughter grows sharper, words become weapons, and everyone forgets that this night was supposed to be merry. . . . Let’s not ignore the irony. People throw money at Christmas like it’s a slot machine that’ll spit out happiness; decorations, lavish meals, overpr...