December birthdays are overshadowed by the holidays
At first glance, it seems that being born in December would be a lot of fun, but you would be very mistaken. Once Halloween ends, everyone and their mother starts celebrating Christmas. Even though I do enjoy the holiday and all of the fun it brings, I would enjoy having my birthday separate from the global celebration. Since my birthday is two weeks out from Christmas, it feels like it is out on the back burner of people’s minds and they do not think about how it might affect me. Besides, people only think about what they are doing or where they are going for the holidays, and are therefore busy all month long.
I typically end up spending my birthday evening with my family and we just go out for dinner. Do not get me wrong, I love going out with my family, but it would be nice to do other things with my friends for my birthday. It makes no difference how the people that surround me try and distract me from this fact; deep down it still stings.
Despite the notation of loving the thought of being a December baby because of Christmas, it compels the question of “are there really any benefits?” Not really. Another problem with the day I was born is that it usually rolls around finals week, so all I can do is study for tests and freak out over my grades.
Additionally, I have a twin brother. Sharing a birthday with him brings its own challenges and seems to make the whole ordeal harder for everyone else because there are two of us. As for family members, they end up combining both birthday and Christmas presents into one. While pointing this out may make me seem selfish and self-centered, it is just generally unpleasant feeling less appreciated than say those who were born in April.
Since I was little, there has always been the discussion of whether we were going to put up the Christmas decorations before or after my birthday. For a while, I decided to do it afterward because I wanted to make the birthday feel more special. However, after several years, I have come to the realization that it might be fun to have a tree up on the day of my birthday.
The overshadowing of larger celebrations creates the perception that the bordering birthdays are unimportant. The trouble with figuring out if I should put my birthday to the side is to people please and to not be in anyone’s way. No matter when your birthday is, it should be equally celebrated. December birthdays are being left behind compared to all of the other happenings going on throughout the month.
As I am getting older I do realize that birthdays become less and less important, but I would like to have fun with my birthday while I am still young. Whether or not anything ever changes, I still believe that birthdays around Christmas are suspended upon being buried in society’s psyche. Even though a holiday like Christmas is more crucial at heart, no one should experience their birthdays thinking that they are like a dusty book on a shelf: irrelevant.
