It is coming up to one of the best times of the year; those early days of January following the sixth \u2013 a period I cheerfully refer to as \u2018The Anti-Christmas\u2019!<\/p>\n
Alas December has first to be endured. It is a month dominated by two types of people: those who project that the time is fun for commercial purpose; and those who do so for social advantage. Although each was a monstrous individual, nonetheless Joe Stalin<\/a><\/span> and Ollie Cromwell<\/a><\/span> may have each separately been onto something \u2013 in so far as they both banned aspects of Christmas.<\/p>\n As if an orgy of collective consumerism can offset the unrelenting bleakness of the year\u2019s dullest days? On a more serious note, it is sad that the \u2018festive season\u2019 correlates with an annual spike in altercations, hospital admissions, relationship break-ups, etc.<\/p>\n There is no other way to put it: December fills me with dread. Daylight dropping by a few minutes each day, and worse if cloudy when even the shadows refuse to come out to play amid grim gloom. The rain that fell yesterday does not seem dry on these grey days, as thermometers shiver with the temperatures in single digits. For certain, these must count as the bleakest weeks of the calendar.<\/p>\n James Harpur brings us on a poetic journey of Christmases past, present and to come.https:\/\/t.co\/KF198o7nBI<\/a>#poetry<\/a> #poetrycommunity<\/a> #poetrylovers<\/a> @broadsheet_ie<\/a> @Andrea_Rey48<\/a> @ArtsOverBorders<\/a> @NMcDevitt<\/a> @FintanOHiggins<\/a> @FutureVisions5<\/a> @AlanGilsenan1<\/a> @hisonlysonnet<\/a> @amandaknox<\/a><\/p>\n — CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) December 18, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n