25 December 1996

A Bad Taste in the Mouth

I always drink a lot on Christmas, and when I do I think of Ambrose Bierce.

"The day is associated with the barbarous custom of present-giving, present-taking and present-expecting; the solemn family dinners, hollow civilities and meaningless salutations; with the deception of children and downright lying; with mawkish editorials in the newspapers, warmed over from last year; with mental distraction relieved with flashes of physical prostration. Christmas, as observed in this country, leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and as a relaxation is not noticeably superior to a shuddering drunk. I have experimented with both, and I prefer the drunk."

Bah humbug.