Happy New Church Year!

I got a little cranky when some stores trotted out the Christmas music in mid-November, but at least then it was escapable. Now it's unavoidable: the holiday shopping season is fully upon us. (Not be confused with the Christmas season, which doesn't technically start until Dec. 25, but the marketers-that-be probably don't see much prospect in the season of self-denial and anticipation that the church marks as Advent. Sigh.) I have yet to run screaming from a store with my hands over my ears, but I do carry earplugs with me wherever I go.

It's not that ALL Christmas music grates on me; there are, of course, lovely renditions of classic Christmas hymns, and I found myself humming along to an upbeat Michael W. Smith take on "Immanuel" in a discount store the other day. It's the sentimental shlock that drives me up a wall. Lines like "It's the most wonderful time of the year" or "From now on our troubles will be out of sight" make me want to scream.

NOT TRUE! NOT TRUE! I have a huge paper due this week that I am SO not ready for, plus grading to finish: I don't know about you, but my troubles are staring me squarely in the face. I feel taunted by sugar-coated musical happiness, because I experience the holiday season as a period of elevated academic stress, dating back to 5th and 6th grade, when the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest deadline was in the middle of January. Then I got old enough to have semester final exams in either January or December, and three years ago all my graduate school applications were due during the week between Christmas and New Years. I stayed home to work on an essay on Christmas afternoon while my family went out to see the new Lord of the Rings movie.

I know I'm not alone in my "just get me out of here" attitude toward the holiday season, and I know that there will be pleasant times in the next month and a half that will be sources of joy. But for now, bah humbug!

The one thing I can count on to help get me through the onslaught of cute holiday cheerfulness is Sara's marvelous compilation Angels We Have Heard Are High (warning: explicit language). See also last year's masterpiece, the Cavalcade of Bad Nativities. Remember: laughter is good medicine. If you can't beat it, mock it.