Now that Christmas Day has been and gone for yet another year, I reflect on the fact that in my new life, thousands of miles from my place of birth and residence for over 40 years, I don’t miss the “festivities” one single bit!

As a child, my main recollection of Christmas Day was being dragged around to see a seemingly infinite number of “aunts”, some of whom were family and some of whom were not, which was particularly boring.

And although we did many of the things that you’re meant to do at this time of year, I always felt there was something missing.

Perhaps it was the lack of people my own age, or the fact I don’t ever remember having a stocking, or maybe it just never felt like a “real” family.

Growing older, in my late teens, I caught up a bit on some of what I felt I’d missed, via a surrogate family, but it was all too late, really.

And then, having reached middle age, all I could focus on was the negative aspects of this so-called holiday.

First and foremost is the sheer commercialism of it all.

While I am not now, and never have been, a Christian, I have tried to live by the tenets of most faiths (e.g. do unto others as you would have them do unto you, give to the needy), and yet it seems to me that the biggest Christian festival of them all has little to do with Jesus Christ or religion these days.

This was really driven home to me during 1999 when somebody was quoted as asking what religion / Christianity had to do with the millennium. We live in a material world, where people have forgotten what the traditions that seem to mean so much to them actually mean.

For those who are deeply religious and devoutly Christian, I do feel sorry that such an important day has been so hijacked by big business. (I don’t profess to understand such faith or the need for it, but I do respect their right to believe in what they want – so long as it doesn’t hurt others.)

And on a more practical and maybe selfish note, the run-up to Christmas meant massive increases in traffic – both car and human – as people ran around like headless chickens trying to get ready for one day of overindulgence.

Supermarkets heaved with people pushing several trolleys that were laden high with stuff they never ate at any other times of year. And what do people do with those gigantic bags of Brussel sprouts?

Another bug-bear of mine was the enforced jollities, not least of which was the almost inescapable office party or team meal. For 364 days a year, your colleagues behaved more or less like civilised human beings (with some exceptions, of course), but on the day of the office “do”, it was a whole different matter.

I failed to see, and still do, why wearing paper hats and throwing things across the room at each other constitutes “having fun”.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not averse to fun. I just don’t want other people’s definition of it thrust on me. I’m perfectly capable of enjoying a nice meal and some pleasant conversation without needing to wear a party hat and behave like a Neanderthal (no offence to Neanderthals intended).

Another interesting aspect of Christmas is the huge lies parents tell their kids for years and years. It’s interesting given that we try to teach children to tell the truth at all times. I know people will say it’s all done with good intentions, but I don’t ever recall totally buying into this fantasy even when I was very young – little matters such as how could Santa Claus possibly cover the entire world in one night were just too hard to ignore.

Christmas is also the time of year when you’re meant to be nice to people (especially family) that you wouldn’t otherwise give the time of day to. Moving over 150 miles away from my family was one of the best ideas I ever had – no fights at Christmas about whose turn it was to go where so as not to offend anybody.

All I wanted, in fact, was a quiet day at home and I always treated it as just one more day I didn’t have to go to work.

And finally, in my “new life”, I’ve accomplished this goal - at last.

Just my wife and me, with our doggies - no family, no neighbours popping round, no mad dashes around the supermarket as people buy up everything in sight, no traffic (as we don’t go out anywhere anyway), no commercialism, and no office parties.

Call me a Bah Humbug if you like, but I refuse to be part of the hypocrisy of Christmas any longer!