Morts Musings

So it’s coming up to that time of year again, I know it must be; the infuriating Xmas ads have appeared everywhere, and last week my local high street turned on its Christmas lights, and there was me thinking it was still November.
I’m sorry I know a lot of people love various aspects of the festive season, but really it just doesn’t do it for me, and I think to a large extent my objections are fueled by how commercial it’s all become, and how the marketing monkeys have constructed this idea that you’re abnormal unless you’re spending lots of money on gifts, food & booze.

It’s still over a month to Christmas and the frenzy is already well underway, if it only affacted those who wanted to buy into it I wouldn’t mind at all, but I swear that the population’s stress levels rise noticably during the weeks leading up to the festival. It’s palpable any time you’re out in the street, stressed people running around the shops desperately looking for all those Xmas “essentials” which find their way on to the Christmas shopping list. It seems totally perverse to me, and not at all in the spirit either of a holiday, or of the festival itself- I strongly suspect that JC would be turning in his grave if he could see what’s become of the celebration of his birth!
Even though I wouldn’t label myself as a Christian I still find the way that the marketing men have completely twisted Xmas to serve their purposes to be utterly cynical and distasteful! What’s worse is that they’ve so suceeded in subverting the spirit of the holiday that those who choose not to “buy the hype” get labeled as “scrooges” by those around them. Bah Humbug indeed!

What should be a time to relax, spend some time with those who matter, and maybe, if it is one’s want, to consider matters spiritual, is completely overshadowed by an orgy of spending & stress; No wonder most people need a break by the time it rolls round to December 25th!

The last couple of years I’ve completely opted out of the whole thing, and I have to say they’ve been a couple of the best Christmasses I’ve ever had! Yes, I did get some nice bits and pieces of food & drink in for while the shops were closed, but nothing excessive, and certainly nothing that required the amount of effort which people all over the country seem to spend on preparing the perfect Christmas dinner!
I gave Xmas shopping a miss too, rather than guessing at what my niece and nephew might be into currently, (and possibly for as far in the future as the next 5 minutes,) I decided to give them some cash each. The marketing idiots would have me labelled as “not making an effort”, but actually I look on it as giving the kids the opportunity to buy something they actually want. Yes, it does also save me the pain of running around over-crowded shops trying to find something which they might like, but frankly that just makes it a win-win situation as far as I’m concerned.
Come the day itself I got up when I wanted to, some time around lunch time, and spent most of the day slobbing around in my dressing gown with the house to myself, eating and drinking nice things, as & when I felt like it, & watching whatever TV I wanted to.
Honestly, it was heaven!

This year’s different, I’ve been severely guilt tripped by the folks, and although my immediate reaction to such guilt tripping is to be thoroughly bloody minded, I may actually cave and make the pilgramage to London to catch up with the family; Nothing puts me in a relaxed festive mood more than negotiating London’s public transport network at its busiest time of the year!
Of course that means thinking about what to get various elder family members, & on this I have as little clue as I do when it comes to my niece and nephew. The difference, I suppose, is that with adults you can give them ethical gifts; at worst they’ll be too polite to complain, and best case is that the gift actually makes them feel good, which is probably better than me buying them something I think they might like.
Dunno, will have to have a think, but the charity idea strikes me as a pretty good fall back if I can’t think of anything which would be genuinely useful to them.