Holiday Sneer

What is it about the holidays that bring the best (by “best” I mean “worst”) out in people? It seems that people seem to be angrier this time of year. The other day I was in a local store buying some Christmas gifts and I don’t think I saw one person with a smile on their face. I observed three, not so cheerful, incidents during the 20 minutes I spent in that store.

The first involved a mother and her child. The child was screaming while the mother was dragging him across the floor because she wanted to leave. There was definitely no holiday cheer on her face. Many different things were crossing my mind as to how I would deal with that child, but that is a whole different topic.

The second observation I made was of a lady swearing at her significant other because she was angry that he wasn’t willing to spend more money on the gifts they would exchange this Christmas. Seriously, is this what Christmas has come too?

My last observation came at the cash register. Wow, were those cashiers unhappy… I understand that their jobs might not be fun, but a fake smile would be better than barely acknowledging the customers presence.

While I am sure that there are many people that enjoy the holidays, it seems that I see more and more angry people each successive holiday season. Maybe this current economic downturn will help people focus on what’s important about the holidays rather than reluctantly spending hours waiting in store lines with other reluctant/unhappy shoppers. If only people would share some holiday cheer rather than a sneer.