By Angelica Mozol, Staff Writer
There isn’t anything like the sights and smells of the approaching holidays. As the Christmas decor covers the stores and the music blares loudly playing the same holly jolly songs on repeat, the stress of everything else starts to creep in and makes some question maybe this isn’t the most wonderful time of the year after all.
For students, it marks the end of the semester, but it also signals a crunch time of finals approaching and the anticipation of taking classes over intercession. Staying up late to study for exams, putting the final touches on projects, or lack of a consistent sleeping schedule because of all-nighters pulled throughout the semester, all reasons that make the holidays a stressful time.
Students aren’t the only ones who experience the stress of the holidays. Retail workers are also taking a hit as the influx of customers take to the stores for gifts and window shopping. Many retail workers associate the holidays as a stressful time and even tend to dread them, noting how some customers tend to keep workers on their toes.
“I spent hours on hours fixing the displays I set up that people would come and destroy for almost no reason,” Robert Esparza, Business major, said. “One time I saw a customer take a towel from the middle of a stack I just stacked not even 10 minutes ago.”
On the opposite end, the customer is also feeling the stress. With the bombarding of sales and the spread of Christmas cheer, there is a matter of finances that come into play. According to lendedu, about 20% of holiday shoppers expect to take on debt from Christmas shopping with the average being $720. The additional stress of being able to afford gifts for everyone and still being able to fulfill financial responsibilities all get stacked onto the growing pile of holiday pressures. Esparza explained how he felt that the holidays added extra pressure and stress on customers who focused more on the gifts and how that made it easier for some to forget that the worker is a person too.
The constant pressures of the holidays serve as a constant reminder of how nobody is safe from its wrath. The holidays are supposed to be a stress-free time spent with family, surrounded by loved ones, exchanging gifts, stories and enjoying each other’s company. Well, in some cases seeing family may not always bring the best out in everyone. A family get-together can be the most stressful time for anyone and everyone as fights may breakout, the looming tension between family members and that awkward family conversation that’s brought up every year that never fails to end horribly.
Let’s not forget to mention the people that don’t even celebrate Christmas.
“Christmas cheer means long lines, the same six versions of the same Christmas song on repeat and the absolute shock when I tell a customer, no I’m not celebrating Christmas,” author of the article “Working in Retail Made Me Hate Christmas”, Kyle Poenicke wrote. “Yes, I’m Jewish and no, I have never seen the movie” Elf`.”
With Christmas quickly approaching, there are some people who choose not to celebrate the holidays because of religious views, cultural differences or maybe they just choose not to due to the stress that surrounds it – and that’s okay.
