It's true... Christmas is fast approaching. I can tell this as suddenly the BBC is reporting depressing, moany news stories about how rubbish Christmas will be. It's going to be tough for retailers, lots of people are going abroad to avoid a British Christmas, and your elderly relatives are likely to die!
I love being British but sometimes I wish everyone in this country would just stop MOANING!
I love this quote:
New Zealander Megan McLennan travelled to Copenhagen a few years ago with a friend, hoping to find the festive spirit in abundance.
"We arrived on 23 December, the last day of its Christmas market.
"Queuing at the tourist information centre to find out what would be open over the festive period, we overheard an American couple in front asking the same question. 'But it's Christmas,' the bemused tourism official said. 'Copenhagen is closed'."
"That became the refrain over the next few days as they wandered empty streets, noses pressed against the windows of shut-up shops, restaurants and galleries.
"The only eateries open were the purveyors of ethnic cuisines, typically being staffed by migrants who more often than not were also a long way from home - and on minimum wages to boot. Our Christmas Day lunch was falafels at a kebab house. "
You mean to tell me that the Danish wanted to NOT WORK, STAY HOME WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND HAVE FUN AT CHRISTMAS??? Shocking stuff!
Consumer culture, that's what is killing Christmas! Note to all people: when you moan about places being closed on Christmas Day what you are actually saying is "Someone has the audacity to want a day off and not serve my every whim and desire".
And I love the things people quote as why they hate Christmas:
Christmas arguing. If you argue at Christmas, the one time of the year you really shouldn't, your relationship is in need of some TLC. If it's a tradition then YOU NEED TO MOVE ON!
Stressful shopping. I hate shopping. All year round it stresses me out. That's why I shop online and I shop early (I have only one present left to get). Stressful? Only if you're stupid. And there's a news story at the moment about problems getting deliveries... I work full time, so I send the goods to my work rather than my home. Sensible? YES!
Bad television. 1) is this that important? and 2) Let's think about this for a moment. Christmas editions of Fools and Horses and Doctor Who have been amazingly popular. Movie premieres (notable example being Jurassic Park back in the day) make the day great. Christmas movies offer the best nostalgia available through the gogglebox.
Cold weather. what do you expect? It's the frigging winter! Stay indoors with a warm drink, the heating on full and a good book/person in your lap. Lovely.
So here's what I say... if you don't like Christmas either leave the country or shut up. It's here. It's staying. Get used to it!
As you can probably tell from this I've got the Christmas Spirit upon me. My Christmas playlist on my iPod has started to be played once more (after a year of me longing to open it), my Christmas dog at work has been switched on and barked his first rendition of I Wish You A Merry Christmas and my Christmas shopping has started to arrive. I'm quite jealous of what I've bought the person I picked in my works secret santa. I might get one! :)
Speaking of presents: here's my Christmas Wishlist.
I worked as a barista when I took a year off between degrees. The coffee house where I worked was closed only ONE day a year: Christmas Day. And we actually had one customer bitch to one of my co-workers about our plans to be closed that day. I couldn't believe it when I heard that. Frankly, I still can't believe that. Especially because it came from a lawyer--one who I hoped would have been enlightened enough not to begrudge us that. I mean, we weren't unionized and we were already grossly exploited! That this woman wanted to deny us our right to keep the holiday is just disgusting to me. I hope she got a lump of coal in her stocking! (I know that statement's not exactly in keeping with the Christmas spirit, but I reserve the right to call a spade "a spade" and a humbug "a humbug"...)
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, Jae. Bravo!
I would hate to think what would happen if my company actually shut down for Christmas. Working for an airline I knew it was a fact of life that until I had TONS of seniority or was lucky enough to have Christmas as a regular day off, I had to work.
ReplyDeleteI agree though that people just need to get over it if a business is closed for the holiday.