Graphic by Chelsea Faulk and Madison Crosley
No matter the price, no matter the material, holiday socks for the months of October through December should always be worn by the people of the world. Holiday socks during this holiday season are among my favorite things. If I had every penny of every dollar, I would spend them all on holiday socks for everyone around me to be able to enjoy the warmth and holiday cheer these socks have to offer. I’ve found being my mother’s daughter, that an abundance of yuletide glee comes with these socks.
My mother hoards festive holiday socks and only recently packed a fraction of them away into bags for storage. Anyone who knows my mother knows that she plans for this time of year with one thing in mind: Christmas socks. She claims the socks “make her heart happy.” My mother also has socks that celebrate many other holidays, such as Halloween and Thanksgiving, but she primarily owns Christmas socks.
On this topic, I’ve discovered something rather interesting, considering that United States is the “melting pot of the world.”I have never once walked into a retail store and found holiday socks for Hanukkah or Kwanza. I don’t know why this seems to be the case. Perhaps the way the U.S. celebrates their holiday, as compared to others, those holidays don’t need socks to trademark their calendar debut. I have seen menorahs for Hanukkah in Target, and they are beautiful! I’m sure that the more authentic, probably handmade, menorahs are the most beautiful, but hooray for Target for welcoming into its stores a holiday other than Christmas.
My cheerful heart breaks for those who don’t have socks tailored to their specific holidays. If only someone could hear my plea for luscious foot-gloves in honor of other holidays so someone else’s feet can be warmed by their tender caress.
All this talk about these festive socks makes me wonder how many people in this country, or in this world, don’t have socks. Personally, I possess a bountiful supply of socks, many of which are thick and fuzzy and oftentimes adorned for the Christian holiday, Christmas.
For me, an easy trip to Wal-Mart or Target takes 10 minutes to drive, and I always enjoy the trek. I love wandering the aisles of Target; it seems to be my happy place recently. The holiday socks I long for come in packs of one or two, or if I’m lucky, three. They’re usually in an assortment of designs and colors and always sized to fit my feet snugly.
For others, an easy trip to Wal-Mart or Target could mean wondering whether they want to brave the cold or hitch a ride from an Uber driver, which they can’t afford. Or it could mean sweating from nervousness about having enough money to afford even a food item from the neatly stocked shelves.
For someone else, holiday socks could mean a pair they found on a street they took to a McDonald’s bathroom to use the hand driers. All-in-all, these holiday socks could be just a luxury with no purpose, perhaps labeling me or Americans as a group greedy.
Festive socks should be a holiday-time staple, just like the warmth the holidays bring to everyone who celebrates.
