Following two decades of unadulterated Christmas enjoyment, 22-year-old Lillian Danbury is slowly realizing that every grown-up was actually right about Christmas being an emotional and financial hellhole from which there seems to be no escape.
“Ooohhhhh,” says Danbury, who has just begun to understand that the responsibilities and pressures surrounding the holiday season are exactly as bad as the adults around her had always described. “I get it now.”
After being blinded by a fog of joy, cookies, and carefully crafted lies for years, Danbury has been in waking up to reality for nearly three Christmases now.
“I used to be the biggest fan of Christmas,” explains Danbury. “I love presents, treats, matching PJs, and the music! But now I’m realizing that it’s actually a war set in a never-ending desert filled with landmines.”
This is not the first year Danbury has reported these concerns. One year ago marked the “Christmas actually does make you fat” realization followed quickly by the “I chose to wear a mini-skirt for New Year’s” lightning bolt. The December prior brought on the big “Christmas is no longer about me,” moment that kicked off the spiral.
Now Danbury finds herself working harder than ever to keep the magic of childhood Christmas from being engulfed in the flames of grown-up Christmas.
“I am now violently attached to the traditions of my childhood and can’t stop hanging up mistletoe in inconvenient places.”
And Lillian Danbury is not the only young person experiencing this phenomenon. 22-year-olds nationwide are reporting gradual disillusionment toward the holiday that once brought them bliss.
Danbury says she’s glad to hear she’s not alone.
“I don’t want to be the only person who’s noticing that the adult politics of family are mind-numbing torture.”
Although it is unclear when Danbury’s disillusionment will be complete, specialists predict most young adults give up on Christmas entirely once their mom stops paying for the gifts for their extended family.
