From veganism to crippling fear of crackers, the wacky reasons why we hate Christmas
IT IS the most wonderful time of the year . . . isn’t it?
Mariah Carey on the radio, calorie-bomb coffees in cafes, pubs filled with revellers in festive jumpers . . .
But for some people, Christmas is tough.
An I Heart Wines survey found one in four of us would rather just skip the festive season.
It could be a phobia, an allergy or a lifestyle choice that ends up in big rows.
Here, three self-proclaimed Grinches reveal why they identify with Dr Suess’s misery-guts character who hates Christmas.
‘The idea of people eating animals makes me sick’
THE family of catering manager Rikkilee Lemmon refuse to join in her veganism at the festive dinner table, preferring to eat meat. So Rikkilee, 25, from Eastbourne in East Sussex, will avoid family meals because they end in huge arguments. She says:
“I USED to eat meat but four years ago I started to research veganism and realised animals didn’t have to die to feed the world. Since then, I have been a committed vegan.
“During the past four years, Christmas has become a nightmare for me.
“I have been dubbed the family Grinch because I want vegan food and presents, and because I try to talk my family out of eating meat. I have pleaded with them to go vegan but they refuse.
“The thought of sitting at a festive dinner table while people eat animals makes me sick.
“People don’t realise this is not some millennial trend – it is a lifetime commitment.
“At Christmas it gets worse because everyone wants turkey, ham and beef. I insist on having a proper vegan Christmas dinner but this annoys my family because it means all the items have to be prepared separately.
“I usually have a nut roast or a vegan Christmas loaf with lots of vegetables.
“That also means a vegan butter and non-dairy products for my puddings too.
“It ends with my family telling me to just eat meat for a day.
“That’s like a red rag to bull with me. I can’t do it.
And it’s so patronising. It drives me insane.
“I ask them to go vegan so I can have festive fun and not worry about all my Christmas joy being sucked out as I watch them chow down on everything I believe in.
“It always ends in rows, so this year I will be avoiding Christmas dinner.”
‘Now I have to be extra careful and wear gloves’
FOR nine winters in a row, florist Lucy Ashton suffered sore, red, itchy hands and wrists in her shop The Dandelion Clock, in her home city of Sheffield. Then the 47-year-old divorcee found she has an allergy that gets worse every Christmas. Lucy says:
“This season is my busiest time of the year apart from Mother’s Day. I spend a lot of it making door wreaths and holding workshops.
“I’ve had around 80 people come to workshops this year and I love teaching the people in my classes to make wreaths from lush pine and spruce.
“I had thought the sore, itchy skin on my hands and wrists was just because it was winter and cold in the shop.
“But last winter I went to my GP because of it, thinking it could be a side effect from a recent operation. They referred me for a thorough patch test and it was good timing because by the time I got the appointment, back in May, my face had swollen up. It was ghastly.
“They covered my back in 50 patches – I looked like a Dalek – but it gave me the answers I’d been looking for. When I went for the results, the consultant asked if I did a lot of gardening. It turned out I’m allergic to pine and spruce sap.
“Now I have to be so careful over the Christmas period.
“All the materials for the wreath workshops have to be prepared, so I have to cut through bundles and bundles of spruce.
“It’s messy and sticky, so I have to be extra-careful always to wear gloves now.
“I bought some specialist ones which are actually designed for mechanics so they can still feel what they’re doing.
“I have to remember not to touch my face and to have steroid creams and antihistamines at the ready just in case.
“The allergy takes a lot of managing. Roll on January.”
‘When I see crackers in a shop I have to leave’
STORE manager Aimi Stanley, 24, says a phobia of Christmas crackers has made her dislike the festive season. Single Aimi, from Higham in Kent, has banned friends from pulling crackers in her presence because they scare her so much. She says:
“Every year when I start seeing Christmas decorations go up and hear Christmas carols, I get a sense of dread.
“While other people love Christmas parties and team dinners, I hate them because I’m scared of the crackers.
“It’s called phonophobia, a fear of loud noises.
“In my case, my phobia about the loud crack and spark began when I was six years old.
“I was pulling a Christmas cracker with my cousin and when it snapped, the loud bang and seeing the middle section spark made me flee the room, crying and shaking uncontrollably.
“The bang terrified me and the spark made me believe crackers would make the house burn down.
“My family tried to show me I was being silly but I have never been able to get over it.
“The event has ruined Christmas for me. I just cannot have crackers around me. When I see them in colourful boxes in shops, I get anxious and have to leave the store.
“When I have seen them laid out on tables, I have begged for them to be removed.
“Last year, a friend pulled a cracker near me at a nightclub and I had to flee to the toilets. I was a blathering mess.
“I drive my family bonkers, as I have to have them banned.
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“It’s even worse now because many beauty products are being sold as stocking-fillers in look-alike cracker boxes.
“My dad says I am a wally but it’s not going to change now. It is a life-long phobia.
“And yes, it does send everyone crackers, as they say it’s a tradition. But I just can’t help it.”
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