You Realise Christmas Is Approaching When …

[Bushman]

When that obnoxious neighbor who always goes overboard has their Christmas stuff already up before it's even Halloween.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Saw my first Christmas commerical of the season playing on the TV at the place where I had lunch today. I don't remember what it advertised because once I saw the tinsel and lights appear, it all dissolved into a red fog.

 

[Fanny]

The sign-up list for my community's version of "Secret Santa" was posted on the day board last week. I immediately thought to myself, "Oh no! Its that time of year again."
My grandmother used to go crazy with the Christmas decorations. It always looked like a bad holiday movie threw up both inside and outside of our house. I've never actually liked Christmas. It's just a very annoying time of year for me.

 

[Benzadmiral]

. . . when you realize you're sweating less when you're outdoors. Not perspiration-free, just "sweating less."

 

[green papaya]

all the stores have holiday music, and the closer it gets to Christmas the louder it gets, they turn the volume up full blast near the end to get people into remembering to hurry and buy something times running out, you better get something now.

stores like WALMART get really busy since they have a little bit of everything.

 

[Bushman]

When the Hammacher-Schlemmer and Sharper Image catalogues arrive in the mail. I don't even buy from these stores, and yet they always send out catalogues every year around this time.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

You realise christmas is approaching when the tele is inundated with christmassy themed Canadian TV movies, plenty of snow, unbearable kids, chunky knitted jumpers and talking dogs !.........denial is pointless, christmas must be just around the corner.

 

[GoetzManor]

I noticed Target had an end cap of various Advent calenders in early October. Also, the day after Halloween, I was walking through the mall by my store, and heard Christmas music playing. Seems like it's getting earlier every year. I don't have cable, but I'm sure there are already a few Christmas car commercials that have aired.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When you are compelled to dance down Main Street dressed as a box of candy in your local "Festival of Lights" Santy Claus parade.

In keppitalist America, Duds milk you!

 

[scottyrocks]

. . . Ace Hardware is playing continuous Christmas music on Black Friday.

 

[ChiTownScion]

When you are compelled to dance down Main Street dressed as a box of candy in your local "Festival of Lights" Santy Claus parade.

View attachment 95385
In keppitalist America, Duds milk you!

"Let's all go to the lobby..."

 

[AmateisGal]

I refuse to start celebrating Christmas until after Thanksgiving. And now that Thanksgiving is done, let the festivities begin! Can't wait to decorate my house.

 

[Fading Fast]

I was in one and only one store over the past three days - a supermarket - and now I have "Santa Claus is coming to town" stuck in my head.

When you are compelled to dance down Main Street dressed as a box of candy in your local "Festival of Lights" Santy Claus parade.

View attachment 95385
In keppitalist America, Duds milk you!

Lizzie, you look like you are being a good sport about it and the young lady at the counter behind you is clearly having a great time. That's a fun picture, thank you for sharing.

 

[Edward]

The UK used to have a big celebration on November the fifth. It was to commemorate the foiling of the gunpowder plot on November the fifth 1605, when an attempt was made to blow up Parliament and restore catholicism to the country. Bonfires would be lit and an effigy of one of the conspirators, one Guy Fawkes, would be burned atop of the bonfire. Fireworks are let off and there was always lots to eat. As a child I remember that we would put potatoes in the embers of the bonfire, these we would eat, once cooked. Goodness knows what else went down with the flesh of those potatoes. The celebration was always referred to as bonfire night. Nowadays it's reduced to organised fireworks display on the nearest weekend to November the fifth. It dropped out of favour due to idiots throwing fireworks that could start a fire, worse they would deliberately frighten pets, it all got out of hand. Then when the world went politically correct, bonfire night became known as an anti-catholic demonstration, so now very few bother with a home bonfire. Instead we have imported America's version of Halloween, except, thankfully, the trick or treat aspect of it.

I'm not sure how UK wide it really was; Guy Fawkes was certainly a hstorical story that was known when I grew up in Northern Ireland, but I don't recall it ever being acknowledged in popular culture aside from the odd "Guy Fawkes had the rght idea" graffiti in republican areas, and occasionally Loyalist ones. There was a Loyalist version of the old rhyme around the time of the Anglo-Irish agreement which replaced "Gunpowder" with "Thatchery, treason and plot", but it simply wasn't a part of our popular culture. Hallowe'en, on the other hand, was huge and that's when we had bonfires and fireworks, all roote in the ancient Sam Hain tradtion; a true, folk-festival, not the plastic commercial version that is now, sadly, rapidly taking over. The saddest thing of all is seeing kids "trick or treating" instead of "Halloween Rhyming" and carrying pumpkins instead of turnips, the latter being the true stuffof a jack o'lantern. Next there'll be a generation thinking that "corned beef and cabbage" is a real Irish meal. AFAIK, my Scottish pals have had a similar experience - Guy Fawkes seems to be a Sassenach festival.

Last I read about it, there's now a school of thought that poor old Fawkes was a dupe for some ultra-protestant radicals who were concerned that the King wasn't doing enough to persecute the Catholics. Not a pleasant period of history all round, really.... certainly not particularly one n which I would regard either side as worthy of celebration.

Round my way, we've had fireworks since mid October. Diwali, Eid, Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas.... I don't mind them (nor does the cat), but I do object to how freely available they seem to be to kids who run riot with them. Long gone time for them to be cut back to organised displays only, or at least limited in size for domestic sales.

On November the first the shops take down all their Halloween display and replace them with tinsel and all things Christmas. At the start of this I mentioned the mid summer Christmas tree, and how annoying I found it. So too do I find it exasperating when the shops clear away Christmas only to display an array of Easter eggs.

My favourite sign Christmas is on the way so far this year: mince pies on sale in our local Tesco.... with a use-by date of 25 November.

Another one: the sense of rising stress as I realise how much I stll have to get done before I can take a couple of weeks off, though that is tempered by the fact that this is about the only time of the year when I can take two and a bit weeks off without worying about ending up too far behind.

A new three parter started on the BBC on Saturday night called Gunpowder about the plot starring Kit Harington who's also in something called Game of Thrones (?) as chief plotter Robert Catesby who was actually his ancestor!

Lots of complaints about the violence so far after an old lady was stripped naked and crushed under a door followed by a young Jesuit priest being hung, drawn and quartered in glorious Technicolor!

The truth of history is so often terribly inconvenient for modern viewing sensibilities.

I doubt it will be shown in the States though as few people over there know about the plot.

Gareth

I'd say there's a fair chance it will at some point, given Kitt Harrington's commercial appeal, Game of Thrones beingone of the biggest TV show globally for the last decade.

Saw my first Christmas commerical of the season playing on the TV at the place where I had lunch today. I don't remember what it advertised because once I saw the tinsel and lights appear, it all dissolved into a red fog.

Ha. I've managed to avoid them all so far - betwene BBC and Netflix, which cover the vast majority of what we watch, I've had very little exposure to advertisements over the last couple of years. It's very plesant in that regard.

When you are compelled to dance down Main Street dressed as a box of candy in your local "Festival of Lights" Santy Claus parade.

View attachment 95385
In keppitalist America, Duds milk you!

Crackin' photobombing in the background!

 

[Trenchfriend]

When hateful, middle-aged and older, for possible christmas-gifts looking faces are wandering through the department-store.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I had to go into Wal Mart yesterday, and encountered many such faces. "I don't know what she's going to do with it, but that's what she wants!" Said item being a rifle with a pink-camouflage stock.

 

[2jakes]

When you come to that stage in your life when this is the most “holiday cheer” decoration
around the house this year & you feel good!

 

[vallettavalentine]

The day after Thanksgiving, when I realise I have to make lists for things to bring/get/do for people and events. We have both Hanukkah at our house and my in-laws, and Christmas at my parents' house, so it's all about the event calendar!

 

[2jakes]

Even though you’ve seen this movie a gadzillion times...you still watch it around the holidays...
and each time you discover something new.

 

[Trenchfriend]

You've never seen happier people.

Weimar, December 2013.