It's the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you to be of good cheer. It's the most wonderful time of the year.
Aside from this being the opening stanza to “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams, arguably one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, it represents the way that we are supposed to approach Christmas time. In other words, Williams’ song serves as a bible for the month of December.
Christmastime is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Holiday songs, favorite Christmas movies, and festive clothing are trademarks of this time of year. Presents, laughter, excitement, relaxation, and time of reflection are often associated with the weeks of December. However, not all age groups are able to enjoy the season the same way. For example, Christmastime in a college student's eyes is much different than in the youthful eyes of an elementary school kid.
As a young child in elementary school, Christmastime is, in fact the most wonderful time of the year. Kids are "jingle belling," and everyone is in “good cheer.” Why not?
As a college student, Christmastime is indeed the most “stressful” time of the year. If you find your fellow students “jingle belling,” they most likely either don't have much work to be doing or have “checked out” a bit earlier than they probably should have.
In elementary school, teachers will often throw Christmas parties accompanied by holiday treats, music, and festive wear. Candy canes are at the masses, and there isn't a single word spoken about academics when it's Christmas party time in the classroom.
In college, the word "Christmas" is hardly spoken within the confinements of the classroom. And professors, rather than hand out treats and host holiday gatherings, pass out final exams and assign projects for students to enjoy during the middle of December. What greater gift is there?
As far as the atmosphere is concerned, in elementary school, there isn't a care in the world. The month of December is very lackadaisical; more emphasis is put on enjoying the season, and living up to the expectations that our favorite holiday tunes have set forth for the youth. In this setting, children are laughing, playing, and the excitement is quite evident.
On a college campus, there isn't a care in the world about Christmas. Campus is usually decorated in some capacity and students tend to decorate their dorms, but that’s really it. The sad reality is, there isn't enough time to care about Christmas. Around this time of year, you rarely see students smiling and laughing, and if you do, they might just be going insane after staring at a textbook for 12 hours. Stay away.
Elementary school students spend most of their time bouncing Christmas gift ideas off each other. No, not what they’re going to get for others, but what they are going to ask for from Santa. If someone else has a better list than the other, you can be sure that the other kid goes back to his or her house, and immediately asks their parents to send a revised edition to the North Pole.
College students spend most of their time talking to each other about when their final papers and projects are due, and how much studying they have to do for their finals. The only ideas they bounce off of each other are when to get coffee and where to study. Oh, and as far as gifts go, you’re officially at the age where you, depending on the family, are expected to give gifts to others. So, you have that going for you.
Finally, elementary schoolers get to come home after a long hard day at school, and play in the snow or watch Christmas movies. There really is no greater time to be an elementary school student than the holiday season. Essentially, school has been one big party since Halloween.
After a few hours of classes, more work and textbooks greet college students once they get back to their dorms. ABC’s "25 Days of Christmas" is a distant fantasy to watch, as around that time, rather than being in front of their TVs, they're in the library.
OK, so it may not be the most wonderful time of the year for everyone. It’s a fairly stressful time of the semester for college students. However, once finals are over, it is officially Christmastime for college kids, and there is no greater time of the year than that.
