Though there are some people who approach the holiday season piously—who recall that it comes from...uh...some religious thing?—most Americans think of it as a time to buy stuff, take off of work, give presents, eat a lot, and watch the Roots' Questlove rock an ugly Christmas sweater and sing a corny Christmas song on national TV. It's a holiday that frees us from our shackles of self-presentation and makes it okay to be kitschy, in the same way that Halloween makes it okay for women to dress like hookers (oh, wait, bad example).
Nothing is too garish or too tacky on Christmas. You might be the type who never departs from a suit, a string of pearls and pumps, but come Christmas, you can wear a reindeer LED pin without a hint of shame. You can also sit on the floor of Macy's next to a 5-year-old and watch a light show that was last perceived as avant garde in 1910—and be delighted and amazed. It's just that time of year.
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