The neighbors put up their Christmas lights already. They have three trees full of white lights, a wreath the size of Chicago and a blow up Santa Claus that is taller than their house. I also have a suspicion that the wife dresses up like an elf and dances around, but that could just be my four glasses of wine talking.
At any rate, I hate them.
As I type this blog entry, it is Sunday, November 21, 2004. Last time I checked, we haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving yet. When I look in the refrigerator, I see the naked bird waiting for his moment of glory. Why are the neighbors putting up Christmas lights?
Because they’re following the Christmas trend. They’re caught up in the commercial crap of it all.
Rush, rush, rush, buy a thousand and one pieces of foreign manufactured junk, wrap it in gaily colored paper and shove it in the recipients face and croak out a “Merry Christmas”. Of course, one doesn’t really have the time to look to see if the “giftee” enjoyed the gift or not because we’re on our way to spread more fun and frivolity.
What happened to the days of actually talking about what we’re thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner, rather than the current trend of discussing what crap Wal*Mart (“Always White Trash, Always”) has marked down for their 3:00-3:05 a.m. sale the next day? I’ve been to Thanksgiving dinners where people discussed the glee of stomping on a senior citizen’s foot to make her let go of the last Betty Belchie doll so they could make off with the great bargain instead. I guess they were thankful for pain.
Instead of thinking about Christmas this and Christmas that, let’s take a moment to remember Thanksgiving and tell each other what we’re thankful for. Sit down with your family, tell them how much you love and how thankful you are for their existence. Be thankful for the harvest, be thankful for the company, be thankful for the lessons you’re learning in life. There’s plenty of time to put up Christmas lights. There’s plenty of time to listen to tinny, low-fidelity versions of Jingle Bells on mall intercom speakers. There’s plenty of time to fight for parking spaces.
And while I’m on a little bit of a rant, take a moment to put some thought into your holiday gift giving this year. Put some meaning into your gifts. Make something. Create a masterpiece. Don’t just give someone a present, give someone a warm, fuzzy feeling.
You can blame my friend Dana for this rant. I read her blog entry and it got me a little bit fired up. Dana and I always thought alike on these things.
