Commercially Yours

As seems to happen every year, December is whooshing by at an alarming pace and you just know that Christmas is going to be over and done pretty soon. And I have to say, in some ways, i'm going to be very thankful for it. Now before i get into the rest of the post, I want to add something of a 'disclaimer' and say that what i'm about to talk about is nowhere near an America-only thing. It's pretty much a 'Western Culture' thing all round I imagine. What am i talking about? Well, as the days drip by, so the commerical juggernaut that is Christmas advertising and business gets bigger and louder. There was a time - when i was considerably younger, that Christmas actually used to mean something. Whilst as a child, there's always a thrill of getting presents, there was also the added bonus of getting to spend time with family and friends, warm greetings, and, in some aspects, a chance to reflect and be thankful for how lucky we were to be alive and well. Of course, as i've gotten older, the latter parts of this have perhaps taken precedent over the first. And with being over the other side of the Atlantic from my family, it takes on an even greater meaning. Yet this all seems to be lost.

Christmas, one time, used to be about something - the birth of Christ. Now whilst i'm not particularly religious, i think the sentiment surrounding this 'peace on earth and goodwill towards men' is applaudable. Nowadays, this gets lost in the flurry of Christmas adverts, christmas bargains, christmas sales and so on. Hell, when i was younger, the Christmas season 'began' around mid-November (in terms of the annoying adverts on TV). These days, the stores seem to put up decorations in Mid-September, and it gets stretched out. I suppose in that respect, it's quite understandable that by the time the day itself gets here, everyone has just had enough. I, for one, could happily go for a long time without seeing a 'Peace, Love and GAP' Christmas advert, or any of the other hundreds of adverts that assault your eyes at this time of year. Nor do i care about getting a PS3 or a Wii (or whatever the hell the two consoles that are flying off the shelves are called). When Christmas comes around, i will be in the company of good friends, thankful for my health and my family, and, at least, trying to get the spirit right. And not a GAP advert in sight.