I live in Australia, and we received many Italian migrants after WW2. One of them arrived in 1949, worked hard, and was well paid, by the standards of what he had been used to.
He died recently, but late in life he sometimes said, referring to Australian prosperity: ‘Every day is Christmas Day.’
In old times, the local squire would host a Christmas feast, where animals who were not worth feeding through winter would be slaughtered. Ordinary people ate an adequate if boring diet of bread and vegetable, unless the harvest was poor, but Christmas was a time for eating unusually well. Today, we eat well, or can choose to eat well, every day.
My Italian friend’s remark puts modern life into perspective. There is no need to hate Christmas, just hate the extreme consumerism.
