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- Category: Art and culture
The holidays are such a great time of year! All the food! There are decorations, great seasonal music, and all the great presents.
Well, unless like Ronald Weasley in the Harry Potter series, you receive a lovely handmade garment of hand me down. At least that used to be the prevailing theory any way. Of all of these wonderful oddities, there is a special place for the ugly sweater. Is it the wrong shade to match your personal style? No, think again sweet heart.
How about sweaters that match the delightfully tacky goodness of tropical shirts that tell everyone you are a tourist? Ugly sweaters are probably the most infamous of these unexpected treasures. Reviled by children who were hoping for the latest cool toy or gadget or at the very least something their friends are wearing, ugly sweaters used to be a reminder or how the generations can seem so odd to one another. And the ugly sweater was also an introduction to the concept of gifts that are about how it is the thought that counts instead of mass consumer trends and our holiday wishes.
Once the butt of the joke or the subject of stories about childhood memories, ugly sweaters have now become a celebrated tradition with a more positive spin. Just like there are parties with themes like Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, or Disney, there are now ugly sweater parties. Offices and schools may even have a day on the calendar that encourages participation and even promotes awards for the ugliest or over the top sweater.
What changed? It is probably due to pop culture. It current pop culture, it is trendy to challenge convention, clichés, and stereotypes. From sequels that are better than the original, breaking the fourth wall, and ugly sweaters that are cool, is anything sacred anymore?
