Right now I am dealing with a lot of Christmas envy. For those of you who don't know, "Christmas envy" is the turning of Christmas into a frustrating, foreign event that doesn't even seem celebratory. I almost hate Christmas.

There are manyn reasons for this, I think. Among them are:

1. It's hot. Even here, though, Christmas is portrayed in pictures as a snowy, cold event. It's like Christmas is taunting all of the southern hemisphere, laughing at our misery.


2. I'm away from home, so all the things I'm used to having for Christmas, like a big, beautiful, sweet-smelling Christmas tree and six siblings to make fun of, are far off from here.


3. We don't have stockings. Maybe this Christmas-killer belongs above, with "away from home," but stockings are so important to me they get their own category.


4. The church here doesn't seem to celebrate Advent, and this is hard for me to adjust. It is difficult for me to get into the "Christmas spirit" when life seems to be going on as normal, just hotter.


5. Team England is sucking all the life that's left out of my South African Christmas. Their Christmas is cold and will possibly be snowy; they have stockings; they have a Christmas tree; they get to drink hot chocolate and not sweat their weight. They will soon know what they did.

I know I shouldn't be looking at Christmas this way. After all, it is the birthday of Jesus and shouldn't (and doesn't) depend on things like snow and hot chocolate. But it's hard for me to feel celebratory here. I am sort of working on it, but also sort of basking in my negative emotions. Anyway. Merry Christmas!