Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and the Anxiety of Christmas
The moral case for feeling anxiety at Christmas.
Author’s Note: Since I have so many new subscribers this past weekend. Today is the beginning of an 11 day series on Christmas movies. Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Christmas gives people anxiety.
There's so much anticipation involved that it's difficult to see how it wouldn't give you anxiety. The possibility of Christmas coming up and all the things you have to do in order to make it perfect. Making sure that your Christmas dinner has everything you need to be cooked properly and at the right time so that it's ready to be eaten on time. Not to mention the way in which you have to schedule your family so they can be there for the big meal. All of it creates an incredible amount of anxiety. It takes so much time and energy that you can become anxious just thinking about it. Yet this isn't even the most stressful part of Christmas for a lot of people.
Usually the Christmas meal is something that parents do for their children and so the kids don't have to think too much about it. They just have to actually show up and eat when everything has finished. Where it can become bad for kids is in the other parts of Christmas. It's right around this time that children get very concerned about the possibility of Santa showing up. Especially when it comes to whether or not they are on the naughty or nice list. This list determines what kind of presents they're likely to get when Christmas morning comes and the presents are finally under the tree. Children really want to get that one special present they've been thinking about all year but their parents won't get it for them. For kids, nothing is giving them more anxiety than the possibility of Christmas morning.
Presents are the most anxiety producing things that Christmas gives people. You want to get the person the right present which will make them feel good about it. Of course the problem is that you have to find a way to figure out what people want for Christmas without actually letting them know that Christmas presents are the reasons you're asking. You don't want to ruin the surprise on Christmas morning of finding out what you got them. At the same time, you want to know what other people are getting you so that you know they're getting you what you want. Some people have fun trying to guess what they're getting for Christmas even as an adult.
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is very much about the anxiety of Christmas. The people of Sesame Street love Christmas and how magical it can all be for them and the people around them. Celebrating is beautiful and makes them happy. But at the same time, they want to give the right present and make sure they get what they want. Whether it's Cookie Monster or Bert and Ernie. They all want to have a great Christmas and to give one for others. Maybe the one who is getting the most anxiety out of Christmas though is Big Bird. He really wants to understand how Santa gets down the chimney and will do whatever he has to in order to find out.
All because Christmas gives people anxiety.
Do yourself a favour and explore the anxiety of Christmas by checking out Christmas Eve on Sesame Street this holiday season.
You can watch Christmas Eve on Sesame Street on YouTube here: