Santa Claus is coming

[dream_labyrinth]

Last time I checked, it was October.
But the stores are already full of Christmas stuff.
Things I hate about Christmas:

electric bulbs that are supposed to look like candles. If you are afraid to put real candles on the tree, leave it. (Exceptions might be made for people with pets or little kids)

Stupid figures in front yards. (This annoying American habit has come to Germany, not getting less annoying on the way.)

people going to church on Christmas eve simply because they don't have anything else to do (worse still, people sending their kids to church to have them out of the way.

Christmas songs played in stores, sung by badly trained children's choirs

too much decoration on the outside of houses or in the windows or any other place were I can see it and be annoyed by it.

the stupid "peace on earth" stuff that somehow implies you should suddenly love the stupid family you try to avoid during the rest of the year.

Pseudo-Christian decoration in atheist houses. If you don't believe in this, why don't you just have a party and don't worry about the star of Bethlehem in the window?

Speaking of pseudo-Christian stuff, I was recently forcefully reminded of why I don't usually listen to the radio. The horror has a name: Xavier Naidoo. The self-acclaimed savior of the world is played a little too much in German radio stations, IMHO.
I don't need to be converted to Christianity or whatever he believes in when I'm working out in the gym and are defenseless, meaning I can't even switch the radio off. If I want to be preached to, I'll go to church, thank you very much. It's enough for me to hear his voice to want to go and kill him. And I am usually pretty good in ignoring annoying music and /or musicians (like the terrible Eternal Flame version by Atomic Kitten, ruining a perfectly good Bangles song or the equally terrible Preluders singing Losing my Religion). But with Xavier Naidoo, I break down and become some sort of Miss Hyde.
This is the main good thing about American radio. No Xavier Naidoo. As far as I know, he hasn't made it over there yet.

Comments

[amokk]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/amokk/294632.html

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

Isn't it just scary?

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

Something to be thankful for.

[rev-tobias.livejournal.com]

Xavier Naidoo is the spawn of the devil.

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

That he is. If you play his music backwards, it'll probably reveal some dark message behind all this Praise to the Lord stuff.

[angharad.livejournal.com]

electric bulbs that are supposed to look like candles
Well, over here, the fake candles (although usually ones that are more bulby than candley) are traditional and have been for at least 50 years. I personally think they are safer. Plus! You can get ugly garish blinky multicoloured lights! (;

suddenly love the stupid family you try to avoid during the rest of the year
And, not just immediate family, but charities. I guess giving sometimes is better than giving never, but why don't people feel guilty for ignoring the poor during the rest of the year?

Pseudo-Christian decoration in atheist houses
I have no compunctions, as an atheist, about celebrating Solstice/Yule. This allows me to post astronomical decorations, so there. I also find the pseudo-Pagan "Christian" decorations handy (evergreen branches, holly leaves). It also allows me to take my holiday several days earlier than everyone else, which can be handy.

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

If they are colored, I can deal with better with these little bulbs. Because then they don't even pretend to be candles. Yes, I know they are safer. But having real candles just creates a much different athmosphere.
And in my family, we always had real candles, even with four kids, three cats and a dog. Of course, you can't leave them burning when you aren't in the room, but apart from that it was never a problem.
Yes, charities get a lot more money around christmas than any other time of the year. Silly. As if the hungry kids in Africa were less hungry in summer.
About the decoration, what really makes me angry is the pictures of baby Jesus and Mary, the shepherds and angels everywhere. It just doesn't seem right if you don't believe in these things. Of course, the Christmas tree as a pagan symbol is equally misplaced in Christian households, but I'm not going to say anything against it, because I'd hate not to have it. And at least I know it isn't a truly Christian symbol. :-)

[angharad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty "nice", pictures of Jesus and Mary, if you're not a Christian. Although, I understand that in Japan, they have some weird synthetic celebrations of Christmas. Mostly Santa from what I hear, but maybe they do this too.