Christmas lists? Gift giving?

[summercomfort]

hmmm.... people have been putting up their Christmas lists, and it makes me wonder: What's the point of Christmas? Is it a time where everyone's nice to everyone else and gets each other cool stuff, or is it just a chance to milk our parents for stuff? It's so weird how gift-giving can be so transparent, like, "This is a list of things I want. I will be super-happy if you got them for me." I'm not saying wish lists are bad. It's a good idea to know that what you get for someone will be appreciated and not just something redundant... I guess it's just that I've never been a big gift giver. Is it because Chinese think about gift-giving differently? As in, bring gifts when visiting someone, never opening the box until guests have left.... Or is it just my family? I mean, for Christmas, gifts are for my brother, because he's still a kid, and then we just say "Merry Christmas" and have a candy cane. In our family, when we want something, we can usually just go and get it with some saved allowance. And if we need funds and have to go through our parents, they're in essence acting as a conscience, as in, "Are you sure you need a new bike helmet?" Even for Chinese New Years' it's more like, "staying up until midnight watching music shows and eating good food." Is it just me, or is my family weird? Anyway, I've just never really understood this Christmas thing. One year I tried to make it meaningful, getting gifts for my family, and making sure that my parents were participating, too. Well, at least Mom. But by the next day it all seemed kind of hollow and pointless. Maybe it's just that I don't know what Christmas is supposed to do. Is it just a time for "Look, I care about you so much that I took the time to buy and wrap a gift, and I hope you enjoy the days off with your friends and family." Or is there something deeper?

Ugh. I feel so detached from everything.