During the obligatory "I'm thankful for..." around the table on Thanksgiving this year, I shared that I was thankful for chocolate (and I meant it!). My sister, immediately after I expressed thanks for a consumable, shared that she is thankful for people who help other people. Tears filled her eyes, and it was a moment of raw emotion. She meant it. My sister and I both have encounters with those less fortunate than ourselves through work. We've both been witness to families and people dealing with homelessness. This is what led her to her statement. The ability to help each other is what sets us above all other creatures on this planet.
I read A Christmas Carol every holiday season. It is a reminder of what the season is about. Dickens wanted his readers to take this time of year and think of each other as fellow passengers to the grave, no matter where one may fall on the social ladder. The holiday season is not about a store running out of the color and size of that sequins skirt you "need", it's not about someone accidentally or purposely cutting in line, it's not about the salesperson who refuses to let you use all seven coupons.
Instead of focusing on the commercial part, or how you've been slighted, try to think about what you do have. There are people all around us who instead of fighting for the last neon bubble vest, are worried about where they're going to sleep tonight, or if they're going to be home to spend time with their family on the holiday because they have to work all the time.
At the beginning of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge can't believe that those who aren't rich make merry at Christmas. He doesn't think there is reason to make merry, when you don't have money. Luckily, he sees that there is plenty of reason to make merry at Christmas, no matter how much you do or don't have. We make merry at Christmas because of the people we love and care about, and because there are people who help other people, and that really makes all the difference.
