Christmas vs. New York City
by alanah
Christmas is not my favourite.
Presumptuous and self-important, Christmas insists on dominating the month of December. Instead of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we are stuck with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Leading up to this are the manic weeks of Christmas shopping, set to the nauseating tinkle of Christmas tunes, or worse, to rock ‘n roll versions of old carols. Every faith feels the need to conjure up their own seasonal celebration in defiance of Christmas, and by now the whole thing reeks of compensatory political correctness.
Anything you do on Christmas becomes The Thing You Are Doing on Christmas. And everybody always has a million rigid plans that tend to get in the way of anything fun manifesting itself on the big day. Not one to sit home and mope about it, I decided to get away from it all by spend the Holidays seeking adventure in one of my favourite stomping grounds, New York.
New York City has got a lot in common with Christmas, not least of all, it’s outrageous self-importance. As a visitor to New York, it’s impossible to shake the impression you are in in the center of the universe, or at least the Cultural Capital of America. Each step is inflated with extra significance; every pub, pint and pizza slice is infused with added meaning. New York Fucking City: you can almost hear the words echo in the quick footsteps of the locals, in their haughty demands and their smug fashions…
As I bussed from Montreal to Manhattan yesterday evening, I realized that I was about to witness a face-off between two of the mightiest legends of the West: Christmas and New York City. Which spirit is more potent? Which one will dominate my thoughts tomorrow, December 25th?
Or could I possibly succumb to a particular New York kind of Christmas magic?
Listen to this article
Published on: December 24th, 2007
Terms Used: alanah, Brooklyn, christmas, city, holidays, new york, places & spaces, spirit
Browse Indyish Content:
Use the tabs above to navigate between Featured Blog Columns, Product Categories, Popular Tags, and Recent Comments.
New York is definitely winning. I used to fly from Montreal to Alaska on Christmas day… cheaper flights. There was such a strange sense of solidarity between all the passengers and flight crews. I miss it. It was less about christmas and more about being lonely… well, not lonely, but alone. and making the strangest connections with total strangers as a result. i wish i were there so i could wander central park alone… or better yet, stand on the brooklyn bridge and watch the sun rise on what may be the quietest day in ny.
Posted on December 24th, 2007 at 3:46 pm [permalink]