Don’t Let Your Inner Grinch Steal Christmas

Who is the Grinch?

Most have seen the holiday classic of How the Grinch Stole Christmas or heard the holiday song about him. As a child I found the movie to be funny and simply amusing, but as an adult this classic childhood favorite actually provokes more thought. If you haven’t seen the original cartoon or movie remakes I’ll give a brief synopsis. The Grinch, is a foul, green character created by the author Dr. Seuss and first mentioned in a 1957 poem The Hoobub and the Grinch. He is a hermit that lives alone high above the town of Whoville on Mt. Crumpet with his loyal dog Max.

Seeing Whoville celebrate Christmastime is especially aggravating for the Grinch. The Grinch finally takes action when the Whos decide to make their Christmas celebration even bigger. He concocts a scheme to pose as Santa Clause and literally steal Christmas from the Whos. Yet despite having their material Christmas items taken from them the Grinch finds he can’t take away their Christmas spirit. With the help of of young Who, the Grinch has a change of heart and rediscovers happiness, love in the season and his Christmas spirit.

Is the Grinch relatable?

Aside from the green getup and the fictional town with traditional Dr. Seuss rhymes it is a very thought provoking storyline. The term Grinch is used often still in fact to describe people that don’t want to celebrate or participate with a group (especially during the holiday season). We’ve all encountered that grumpy person that seems to despise everyone and everything around them.

In the story the Grinch had a difficult childhood and was hurt by others. As an adult I think many of us can relate to the Grinch. So many of us have memories that come rushing back during the holiday season. Not everyone had a Norman Rockwell Christmas and for those that did growing up and loosing those special people may also, make the holidays an emotional time.

Tips to Suppress Your Inner Grinch and Save Your Christmas Spirit

During this season of love and light many feel a need to hide from the holiday season or to be reclusive despising other people being happy and celebratory. Learning to recognize the incoming emotional overload, setting boundaries and dialing things back is so important to prevent a holiday melt down. With Christmas festivities, the impending new year and all the pressures abound I encourage you to set aside time to allow yourself to breath.

Don’t be afraid to take in the quiet moments or to literally unplug and be still. The world won’t come to an end if you go off social media for awhile, turn off the Netflix or skip out on a stressful holiday event. Be mindful and spend time in the moment this holiday instead of letting your own thoughts become a brick wall or the pressure from others bring out your inner Grinch. If we aren’t careful the Grinch can steal our Christmas too.