We have gone over the top with illuminations this year, and it helps.
I find this childish obsession that the English have with Christmas a bit irritating, especially right now in 2020. I like a good Christmas like everyone else, but the old excuse of 'it's all for the children' just does not ring true anymore. It never has. Are we all so emotionally under-developed that we cannot be on our own for two days to stop another 3 months of lockdown beginning in January? Yes we are.
I spent about 30 years ignoring Christmas until the kids arrived. I loved being on my own and relaxing. Friends would insist that I go round to theirs, and I would politely refuse.
My other German friend told me that when he was a teenager in Hamburg they would interrupt the Christmas T.V. schedule in the evening saying, 'Let us spare a thought for all the unfortunate people who are spending Christmas away from their families and loved ones'. Then a live camera would show the inside of a bar packed full of people singing, laughing, raising their glasses and generally having a really good time.
My friend would be sitting on a sofa in silence with his parents, wishing that he could be with them.
Well..For me, l was raised that Christmas
ReplyDeletewas a family thing, not the children, not
the grown ups etc..but for ALL the family,
and of course being Catholic, a Sicilian
Catholic, then things are much different,
even when we came over here, l was a year old,
we went the church, mass etc..Mia Mama, did
the tree, and built the crib, the very 'same'
crib, l put up yesterday..!
We always went to mid~night mass, and upon our
return, baby Jesus was placed in the crib in the
manger..for some years we knew and were friends
with an Italian family..so it was home from home.
And in my stocking l used to get an orange, colouring
book, colouring pencils and a toy car....
Every year the same..as l got older, l used to think,
when on earth am l gonna get a leg in this stocking..! :).
HeHe! "Nuff Said"...
So..Two things l enjoy and look forward to..Christmas,
and my Burfday in September..St Matthews Day..! :o)
🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅 🎄 🎅
A severed leg in the stocking, Godfather?
DeleteNO! NO! Not a 'severed' leg....
DeleteA leg with the rest of it attached..
What did one leg say to the other leg...?
(clean version please)..
I'll walk beside you..! :o).
It is talked about so much that we should be sensible this year that any chance of it has been lost
ReplyDeleteI fear. Perhaps if everybody had kept quiet it might have just happened. Radio 2, for instance, are playing Christmas music all through the day now, everyday, started on 1st Dec; they seem to be trying to whip everybody up into a Christmas frenzy.
They're trying to sell crap I suppose.
DeleteThe message it that as a nation we need cheering up and the best way to do that is start thinking and talking about Christmas non stop from now until Christmas Day.
DeleteShop on the high street while they are still there. Phillip Green needs to be held upside down and shaken until a billion quid of other people's money falls out of his trousers. He can sell his fucking yacht for a start.
DeleteAnd he can given them all their pensions back.
DeleteNeed to eliminate defined benefit pensions, should be defined contribution only with a requirement that they be fully funded (perhaps a one year lag). No bonuses if not fully funded and no dividends.
DeleteStrip the assets from asset-strippers. Pensions should be ring-fenced against criminals like him.
DeleteYah!!! Can't stop the Revolution!
DeleteOur best Christmases were when there was just the two of us and the dog. Parents on both sides were keen to be with the grandchildren and having not produced any we kept our heads below the parapet and refused all invitations. It was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI remember a few white ones with log fires.
DeleteThe official message was that if we behaved and followed the rules, we would be able to enjoy Christmas normally. I bet your opinion of this stick and cracker approach was the same as mine.
ReplyDeleteBoris does not want to be seen in the same light as Cromwell. He wants to win the next election.
DeleteAnd mine Tasker.
ReplyDeleteChristmas will be however the most of the people want it, and there will or won't be hell to pay. It will end soon, about January 2, 2021.
ReplyDeleteThat about covers all possibilities.
DeleteI have never understood this hullabaloo over Xmas, only that it is a productive time for retailers. But families do enjoy it, the presents that are never quite right, the baubles and lights, the general air of excitement. Loads of sweets and chocolate, till you feel sick and the heavy lumpiness of Xmas pud, Xmas cake is gratefully finished with!
ReplyDeleteI would like Twelfth Night to be reinstated.
DeleteAnd I'm always jealous of you for having Christmas.
ReplyDeleteChristmas is really a pagan festival to help us cope with long Winters which was hi-jacked by Christians. It is supposed to stop us from going mad, but it doesn't, especially this year.
DeleteIt's all for the children...yes, like the train set...
ReplyDeleteChristmas at the age where it was an apple, an orange and a lump of coal in the gumboot ( better than socks!)made some sort of sense.
Growing up it made less and less sense until Yuletide came to the fore...and the solstice and all the other light festivals around this time.
This year? Students should realise that they have left their parents' home and made their own..so stay there. Families? Just stay put and celebrate surviving so far. Not worth jeopardising everything for a couple of days. Keep on zooming, skyping, phoning and texting.
Cynical? Maybe. Realistic? Hopefully.
Childhood takes a long time to grow out of. We keep getting set back by fresh children.
DeleteAnd who says that Germans aren't funny? That is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI love christmas. My shopping is all but done. I am sending cards right now.I will begin baking cookies. There is a lot that we can't and shouldn't do, but I am also discovering there are plenty of ways to celebrate the season anyway. I think that because Christmas was more often than not spoiled by a very angry father, it meant even more for me to make a special day for my own children. Now I am a grandma. I am even worse.
ReplyDeleteOnce again ... it's really interesting looking between you and the antipodes. You are right, it's never been about the kids. So many Christmases have been screwed up by parents who say it's about the kids, like it is a badge. An interesting omission is the grand parents who are too old and wise to give a shit.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks Willie. Loving your comments forever.
Yep. I bet there are a lot of people who are quite pleased that the pressure to get together with their families is off this year. As they say, you can pick your nose but you can't pick your relatives.
ReplyDelete