Nope.
Though my Christmas is a bit different than yours, I'm sure.
Heh, I even went and saw a Christmas play yesterday: A Christmas Carol.
Oh it was beautiful and heart warming. Nearly made me and my friend cry a little.
Especially since I'm working in a kindergarten right now, I get a nice dosage of the ol' Christmas spirit every day. Classic songs, advent calendar, lighting the advent candles, making gifts and decorations with them... play in the snow for hours every day... Sometimes we're even treated with a special winter themed movie to watch. It's heart-warming is what it is. Feeling their excitement and joy. You know, there's a song called Romjulsdrøm (=boxing week dream) that is a true classic for everyone, and it says "One should've been 4 years old during Christmas", which is so true. The song:
Spoiler for Hidden :
RomjulsdrømEn skulle vøri fire år i romjul’n >One should have been four years old during Romjul og kjint ei jinte som var nesten fem, >And known a girl that was almost five, og begge skulle kledd seg ut med masker >And both should dress up with masks og kømmi julbokk tel et bæssmorhem. >And come as JULEBOKK to a grandmothers house. Og klokka skulle vara midt på dagen >And the time should be in the middle of the day og vægen skulle vara lett og gå, >And the road should be easy to walk, og æille bikkjer skulle vara inne >And all dogs should be indoors, og æille biler skulle bære stå. >And all cars should stand still. Og viss ein møtte onger etter væga >And if one met som kids along the road som gjorde nar og ville vara med, >who mocked us and wanted to come along, så sku en hatt en bror i femte klassen >then one should have brother in fifth grade som rødde væg så folk fekk gå i fred. >who cleared the way, so people could walk in peace. Og bæssmorhuset skulle mæssom såvå >And the grandmother house should almost be asleep og bak gardina skulle ingen sjå >And nobody should peek behind the curtains -før vi fekk stiltre øs på tå i gangen >Before we could sneak into the entrance hall og feste maska før vi banke på. >and put on the mask before we knocked the door. Så sku vi klampe inn på høge hæler >then we should stomp in on high heels og kvinke julbokkmål: ”Godkvell, godkvell”. >And hawk in a Julebokk-voice "good evening, good evening" Og djupt i stolen sku a bæssmor svara: >And deep from her chair grandmother should answer: ” Så kom det julbokk åt en stakkar lell!” "Oh, so a Julebokk came to poor old me after all!" En skulle vøri fire år i romjul’n >One should have been four years old during the Romjul da julelysa brente dagen lang >when christmas lights were burning all day long -da væla var et hus med fire vegger, >when the the world was a house with four walls og saligheta var et bessmorfang. >and bliss was a grandmother's lap
And since the religious part isn't nearly as present over here, it's more free for everyone I imagine. And stores don't really begin selling things related to Christmas before late November.
Christmas music from the 40's, Norwegian classics, food, baking, smells, lights, sounds, happy faces. Maybe it's just my area.
I do understand how you can see some frustration with the gifts. You're spending a lot of money and even more time so that a few people you see as friends and family can greedily open it and feign surprise. Though it's all in the perspective. I do the exact same thing - I earn half of minimum wage for working, not enough to support my own place + food. And I blew it all on gifts. Though the joy in giving and making people happy is subjective and personal. I love making people happy and I like giving away things. I also look forward to the few and sorta crappy gifts I will get because they too will have some care in them. "It's the thought that counts", and what you choose to see is reality.
So Mr. Scrooge, I wish you a very merry Chr-... Erm, a good evening.
Topic: Ba Humbug. (Read 599 times)