Seeing that my lower back went out on me (again!) right on Christmas Eve, at this point I could give f*ck-all about how many cutters we get in the next couple of weeks! That's not really aimed at you, just a convenient place to throw that in there! Sucks...I've had semi-chronic issues with the lower back for several years, a lot of that my fault by lifting things the wrong way without paying attention, that sort of thing (use your knees more when lifting, and tighten your core, dammit!! LOL!). Then all it takes is one little move when it's somewhat weakened by such activities, and...*wham!!** it essentially charley-horses on me and takes a couple or so days to "un-knot" itself. So yeah, I should be more cognizant of how I lift things, and I'm reminded that I should keep up with the exercises I should be doing to keep it in decent shape! But...that all said, that did not ruin the holiday for me!!
Oh, and I agree with you...even in a year such as this, there is some joy at this time of year all the same, and hope for the upcoming year! Part of the Holiday music listening included a CD we have called "Festival of Carols", a compilation of Christmas carols as conducted by Robert Shaw (thought you would appreciate that!)...perhaps my favorite!