…and what have you done?

It’s that time of year again, but then it has been since September, and as last year I can have a rail about the season. The usual over hyped aspects of this annual beanfeast are promoted and overexposed as it has been for decades, only more so every year.

It’s said by many retail sectors that Christmas is the most lucrative time of the year, so it’s no wonder that they devote so much money and effort trying extract the same from you and me. I cannot stand all the adverts and false Christmas bonhomie that abounds in earnest from the 1st October. Then as the last week or so approaches, there is a feeding frenzy on the TV with adverts filling the airwaves. I’m sick of it by the 2nd week in October, I even saw Christmas cards on sale earlier than that, and there are people who start their Christmas preparations at the same time. It’s obscene. And unnecessary. And wasteful. And the basic question is why? The celebration of the birth of Christ is lost in the mists of time, and is rarely mentioned, except of course at the obligatory televised midnight mass, usually from St Paul’s or somewhere equally church-huge, when senior clergy extol the virtues of praising Christ, his birth and the good that it does. Sorry but that is such a crock. The, (especially the Church of England); church generally has been getting a bad press of late, with various scandals involving all levels being caught doing naughty things, I’ll say no more about that. Needless to say these clergy should be a shining example of correct behaviour and decorum, but often they aren’t. It’s shameful. But back to the annual pagan festival that is on 25th December which isn’t even the true birth date of Christ. Why, why, why do huge numbers of people go excessive and spend massive amounts on what is essentially someone else’s (probably imaginary) birthday? Is Christ ever mentioned in these households? Is there any thought ever given as to what the whole deal is about? No, no, no. Then there are the ‘heartstring’ adverts on TV and in the papers. These are the ones where children, donkeys, dogs or any diverse numbers of things are shown in terrible conditions/malnourished/oppressed/downtrodden/abused. These proliferate at Christmas as if that is the time of year when people are manipulated into giving money to these causes because it’s a juxtaposition on what excessive amounts they are spending on their Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for charity and give regularly for good causes, but I dislike the cynical way the advertisers manipulate their audience into feeling guilty about their ‘excess’, although I suspect there won’t be as much excess this year, despite the upturn in the economy.

Anyway Happy Christmas!