Sitting here on the evening of the 26th November, I’m proud to announce that it is exactly 28 days 3 hours and 24 minutes until Christmas; the ratio of regular adverts to Christmas adverts is approximately 1:6 and the lampposts of Briggate have been sporting an abundance of glittering angels since November 8th. My favourite time of year has come around again. Every time the John Lewis advert appears on screen, and ‘the power of love’ bursts into our student living room, I get a wave of Christmas cheer. However, it has come to my attention that a staggering number of students around campus don’t seem to share this sentiment. ‘It’s too early for Christmas!’ and ‘Why are there decorations up already?’ are the sort of comments I’ve heard batted around the Union. These lamentations have an annoying habit of dampening my festive spirits. And for what reason?
I completely understand that Christmas can be a difficult time for students. The impending January exams often cast a layer of gloom over any festivity. The remaining dregs of our student loans must be stretched in order to buy presents for mothers, boy/ girlfriends and long-distance relatives you see once a year purely to exchange said presents. This major cost doesn’t even cover the expense of going home and, for those of us from further afield, the soul-destroying coach, train or plane journey back to our home towns or countries. I do understand this. However what saddens me most is the fact that some students seem to think themselves ‘too cool’ for Christmas. They are too afraid to indulge in the festivities of Christmas in case it gets in the way of their blasé image. Needless to say, I am not, nor ever will be, one of these students.
Naturally, aside from my stimulating course and the nosedive into independence, my favourite thing about the experience of University is that everything is duplicated. Let’s face it, University is not a clean break from home. I revel in the fact that I have two beds, two home cities and with this, two Christmases! In fact, last Sunday was our annual house Christmas. After a hectic day of shopping on Saturday, the Sunday was complete with wine, presents and- of course- turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The day was spent in a relaxed fashion, enjoying each other’s company and indulging in the festivities. What’s not to love?
So, if you ask me, the sooner the Christmas celebrations begin, the better- all the more time to spend enjoying the Christmas cheer with the people I love in Leeds, before going home to do it all again! After all, if it’s not too early to mourn the approach of January exams then it’s certainly not too early to start getting ready for Christmas!