Christmas Can Be Lonely.
Christmas is a time associated with happiness, cheer, laughter, goodwill, family. All very positive things, and for most people it is a positive season. But for some people Christmas can be intensely lonely. Not everyone has friends or family to spend the holidays with, and seeing everyone else enjoying themselves can make it that much worse.
Most people would like to be able to spend their christmas with their loved ones, but there are many reasons that people may not be able to. They may be in different places, for work or studies, and be unable to get back home. People who have recently lost loved ones tend to feel it more acutely at this time of year. There are people that for whatever reason may not speak to their family, or may not be welcome in the family home. It happens a lot with LGBT people, and sometimes even if they are welcome for Christmas they’re asked not to behave a certain way, not to do certain things, dress specific ways. Told not to be “too gay.” What is supposed to be a happy time suddenly becomes a social minefield.
Christmas is often a period that is heavily romanticised as well. Most Christmas movies feature couples in relationships, either as the main plot line, or as a major secondary plot line. There seems to be a big pressure at this time of year to be in a relationship, to have someone to go on cute dates with, someone to cuddle up by the fire and watch those grossly cute christmas movies with. Not everyone is able to do that though. There’s people who have significant others who are away all through the Christmas period, who work in the military or out at sea. With the rise of the internet, social media, and online dating there’s likely to be more and more people in long distance relationships who physically can’t be together for the holiday season.
Christmas may be about family, but it makes the absence of family feel all the more acutely painful.
A Place of Mine 