Is Christmas the angriest time of the year?

[The Ichi]

I kind of noticed this today after scouring every shop in my area today in order to find this one gift for my Stepdad and finishing up last minute gifts, but for a holiday that's generally considered the "most wonderful time of the year"...there's an awful lot of anger in the air. I witnessed many screaming matches between families and strangers, everybody looks stressed out, and I even saw a sales clerk storm out of the store whilst I was lining up because I can only assume she'd had enough of people barking orders at her. My own family is no exception either, but I wont get into that.

Then I realized that you don't get that kind of thing with Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day etc. They're not quite taken as seriously (though your mileage may vary).

I get that once the 25th hits people tend to calm down and enjoy themselves, and that the anger is more in the build up and preperations...but is it all really worth it?

[Burst]

...Until you get the glut of returns on the 26th, the hassle of trying to fly relatives back out, the drunken aunt who just passed out on your couch when her flight is in fifteen minutes, the inflatable snowman in your neighbor's yard that broke loose and is stuck up in your trees, the baby crawling under your Christmas tree and grabbing at the expensive Austrian ornaments, the leftover punch that has become oddly... chunky, the...

[Handsome Halfbreed]

Yes it is stressful. I think extended family has a tendency to stress each other out. Thanksgiving imediately comes to mind. You don't have those problems with Halloween, Valentines, 4th of July, etc. because you are spending time with immediate family, close friends... you know people you actually care about.

[rapidfire187]

The only time it's stressful in my family is on the 24th. For me, that used to always be when I did my Christmas shopping (I finally broke the cycle this year though). Christmas shopping on the 24th is insanity. The other thing about the 24th is that if you have small children, you have to go through the hassle of staying up after they go to sleep and setting up all their Santa Clause gifts. This means stuff like setting up a trampoline at 2 AM. NOT entirely fun.

[VenomFang]

Iv'e been out shopping a lot the past few days and I havent really noticed anything out of the ordinary other than the massive crowds. People seem to be generallywell behaved.