It's December, and we all know what that means..... it's the holiday season. Shopping. Baking. Sending cards. Remember friends long gone. Imagining ambitious resolutions for the new year that we don't intend to keep.

The holidays have always left a bad taste in my mouth because of the family gatherings. My mother's family is a large, loud, angry Italian crowd. At no point in my 31 years of existence was there a moment where all of them got along. Seriously. If you want to know what the true meaning of Christmas is, don't go to our family gatherings. Run away. Far away. I wish I could go with you.

As I was simmering my first batch of the required tomato sauce today, I got to thinking... is there anyone that can rival our dysfunctional family in holding a grudge? You betcha! It's Darth Vader! He is seriously stewing and simmering over that whole Obi-Wan Kenobi incident on Mustafar. And that was like, what? 20 years before ANH? Phew!

Let's compare: my grandmother was royally angry at one of her daughters and the husband because of something to do with stealing a telephone that no one was using from the basement of my grandparents house. Um.... ok. This went on for YEARS! But, eventually, the phone broke, got thrown away, and that was it. All was forgiven.

Now, we have Anakin who is convinced that his wife and best friend have turned against him over some political events...blah...blah...blah.... and at the end of their duel, Obi-Wan chops Anakin to pieces, watches him burn and leaves him for dead at the side of the lava floe. Not only that but he TAKES ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER!!!

Are you seeing the parallel here? Ok, let's continue...

Darth Vader is extra cranky about sensing Obi-Wan on board the Death Star, he isn't even interested in hearing Obi-Wan's excuses or arguments or explanations about anything, he's just super-fly pissed over what happened the last time they met. And chopping Obi-Wan in half didn't make him feel any better about it. Believe me, if my grandmother had had a sword to chop my aunt in half, she would have and I guarantee that she would have felt much better about the supposed stolen telephone. But no, not Darth Vader.

In true Sith fashion, he just can't drop it. Every chance he gets to mention Obi-Wan to Luke (with the exception of their conversation on Endor) it's said with venom. In ESB during their duel, Vader says to Luke, "Obi-Wan has taught you well...." and not in a way that makes me think that he's impressed with Obi-Wan's pedagogical prowess. In ROTJ, Vader discovers he has a daughter and what does he say? "Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete." There. Did you hear it?

I'll type it again: "Now his failure is complete." It seems like after that final insult he could just drop it? He killed Obi-Wan, end of story, he should have been satisfied in ANH. Nope, he had to fester and stew and simmer over this old teacher of his. VADER, JUST DROP IT!!! Take some pleasure in Obi-Wan's failure for pete's sake!

Quite frankly, if Darth Vader walked in to our family Christmas gathering still holding onto to this Obi-Wan grudge, he would fit right in. No one would notice the body armor, the mechanical breathing, the fact that he wasn't eating "enough". Nope, they would all be hanging on to his every word, sympathizing and incubating their own anger over this Obi-Wan guy they'd never met.

Well, pull up a chair Darth, there's plenty of holiday "cheer" to go around. And be thankful you can't partake in the eggnog.....