Where We're Going

flogen

It's a cliché nowadays to say that Christmas seems to start earlier every year. We've all seen the shops itching to put on the 3 track Christmas CD's, stick up the flashing lights and make their staff wear silly hats. We've all seen the sprint-race that is domestic decorating, as each house tries to get there before the other with their tree's. The loser usually tries to bad mouth the victor with whispers of "look how early that tree is up! It's not about the babby Jaysus anymore, its about the money". Yes, or it's at least about expense.

"How many bulbs have you got on your festive display?"
"4,560"
"Really? I have over 7,000. Yep, our bill was more than three times the regular cost last December"
****Applause****

Next on our calender is Halloween, and from early September the fireworks were blasting throughout the day in my area. That's day, as in daytime or "time of brightness". Why would you light spectacular fireworks during the day? Bangers, well they've always been the preserve of the vandalous, but Fireworks were more of a moonlight treat (the vandals having their fun by sellotaping an action man to the side, of course).

"What does this one do? Swirls followed by explosion of rain-like drops of multi-coloured flame?"
"I dunno, but it sounds amazing".

The Halloween kit has been strewn across our shops for some time now, and it's only set to get worse. If they fire a constant stream of fireworks all day in September, what the hell is Halloween night going to be like when they bring out the good ones?!
Once Halloween passes the shops will morph into Santa mode. "Jingle Bell Rock" will replace "The Monster Mash", Reindeer replace Dracula and Drink Driving warnings replace "razor in the apple" tales.

What is it about us as a race that we need to constantly have some kind of festivity? Once Christmas and New Year ends we'll have the panic and joy of January Sales, followed by Paddy's day and then the intense build up to the coming of the Easter Bunny. Once he's gone and done his job for the year, it'll be x amount of days until summer (packed with pale legs, red faces and complaints of sticky weather).
Are our collective lives that dull that we need the constant distraction of wrapping paper and explosions? Can we not have a good time outside of these holidays, or is it just getting harder?
Why are people so anxious to start the next party once the other one ends? This is the Hallmark generation. More parties, more reason to spend money.

This seems to have turned into some kind of not-quite-anti-globalisation-rant... but it's not, I just want to know what's wrong with having a time of year where nothing happens?!!

/rant

flogen

/edit, just to clear any confusion, this may seem a bit "bah-humbug"-ish, but it's not. I love christmas too, I really really do. It just kinda ruins it for me when Christmas is about 3 months long.

mike65

I concure, the best that we can do is try to ignore it and spend as little as possible, i.e. nothing on sersonal friperies.

Mike.

chrismon

I would think personally that its a human thing.we always have to have something to look forward to,to keep us going! Otherwise we would just be bored and makin up excuses to go out either way!
i love Christmas :cool:

impr0v

The only place I have seen christmas mentioned thus far has been here, on boards, in two different 'it gets earlier every year' threads.

Explorers, or more likely, mineral prospecters occasionally come across small settlements in deep Siberia which have not heard of the second world war, or even communism. The chance are these people have also not heard of christmas, or if they have, they'll start celebrating it on the day itself, and it certainly wouldn't be overly commercialised. My point is that there are options for those who are unable to ignore the junk that surrounds the birth of the baby consumer, and these communities could do with someone to throw something new into the gene pool.

flogen

impr0v wrote:

The only place I have seen christmas mentioned thus far has been here, on boards, in two different 'it gets earlier every year' threads.

Ah yeah, the Christmas stuff hasnt kicked in yet, its Halloween season at the moment.

flogen

Flukey

I saw a Christmas ad on Monday night, the 4th of October! There should be a ban on all of this until December 1st. Most of do our shopping in the last week before Christmas, so starting ads on December 1st would be plenty of time for them. People are still going to go out and buy things no matter when the ads start, so they are not going to lose out.

Wertz

Well mate of mine at work today said him and the g/f were over in Atlantic hoecare last night and that half the front display in the place is xmas trees/boxes of tinsel/other overpriced festive gimmicks.


As for the fireworks: yeah it's been going since late august here, bangers of course but rockets and display stuff too, both night and day. Always amazes me too, that in a council estate, so many seem to have money to burn on fireworks that are by no means cheap...

DEmeant0r

I saw a Christmas ad for a Christmas Catalog on some Sky Channel last ****ing April! It's a disgrace!

billy the squid

Theres a new christmas air freshener out now, the ad for it was on after cold case tonight on sky one. yippee.

jas for the fireweorks, I read a story in the Sun today about guide dogs and the fact that due to the trauma of fireworks they have to be retired early, these knackers dont realise how vital guide dogs are to their owners and how much it actually costs to train them €35,000 according to the article.