As a full-time working mother of three, most of my time is spent on things I have to, should and must do. The duties call both day and night – it must be delivered both at work and at home. The tasks are in a queue and they never end. In December, however, I have to run even faster than usual to reach everything that needs to be reached. The run-up to Christmas for parents of young children contains almost daily events, activities, closings, festivities and deadlines – on top of an already packed December calendar at work. The third shift has a peak season at Christmas and it shows. It doesn’t always matter if I, as a parent, put the list low. The list around me is very high anyway. When the premises for the content and pace of everyday life are laid down by the institutions we are part of (think kindergarten, school, sports team and workplace), all attention is directed to the calendar and the eyes are fixed on the next task. My claim is that we have all become speed blind as one. I’m not alone in pulling the strings to make it to the last month of the year. Surplus turns into deficit – deficit in relationships, in the wallet, in the energy store and in life. The culture, standards and expectations around us scream anything but waiting time and the values of Christmas. We end up as a bunch of navel-gazing Christmas zombies, unable to register that the Santa train has derailed. It’s time to hit the emergency brake. My proposal for action: Cancel all Christmas holidays. Overstimulated and tired children with a well-organized December calendar (on top of an already well-organized life), in combination with parents with bursting capacity and an unbalanced nervous system, invite neither Christmas spirit nor Christmas peace. The children already have pleasant Christmas moments at school during school hours, in the nursery during the day and in sports during training time. The beauty of these times is that they include all children, and are independent of the parents’ wallets, ability to put in effort or working hours. Parents do not need to take on, or be responsible for, joint terminations on top of this. It’s not like all of these endings are evil. But as the old saying goes: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Christmas parties in the afternoons and evenings are a good example of just that. We have to clean up the December calendar together. We parents contribute and organize throughout the year, and I thought we should give ourselves a well-deserved break during Advent. We meet again as kiosk guards, on the sports field, charity events, children’s performances, Easter breakfasts, autumn parties, friend groups, step groups, seasonal groups, 17 May, Halloween party, end of summer, parent coffees, bazaars, flea markets and birthdays. I think it will do, and I hope for a quieter December in 2025. Now, however, porridge will be made for 40 children, and costumes will be made for this year’s Christmas play. It’s the end of Christmas at school, you must know. Send us your opinion Want to write? Feel free to contact us at news Ytring with your post. The guidelines can be found here. Published 16.12.2024, at 15.39
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