We Wish You A Commercial Christmas

Every year we predict when the Christmas stock will be available on the shop shelves. Will they wait until after Hallowe'en this year? Will it go in the aisle with the reduced BBQ's and summer stock (after another disastrous summer when no one could use any of it)? This year the shops couldn't wait until after Hallowe'en or even until October. On the 1st of September 2012, my local chain supermarket was selling Christmas Cards. Yes, I will name and shame them, that would be you Morrisons. When I made a joke about the offence, a member of staff assured me that all of the Christmas stock would be out after the weekend. I couldn't quite believe it...

This was, of course, before I moved to Alicante. I didn't see a single Christmas'sy thing here until the middle of November. The local 'Feliz Navidad' lights were put up in the local Spanish town where I live at the beginning of this month. Yes, in December, the month of Christmas. Having festive lights is no rare occurance here, they often have the streets decorated for all sorts of holidays and fiestas. However, the Spanish would possibly collapse at the thought of putting them up 3 and a half months before the event.

Christmas adverts are shown in the UK very early too, while we do all love getting in the seasonal mood with the Coca-Cola advert, we don't need to see it in months of anticipation. I've also heard people complaining about radio stations playing Christmas songs too early, which can also be frustrating. The radio stations here in Spain tend not to play Christmas songs, as it's not in their culture. For that reason, I must confess I have been listening to Radio 1 online for some festive tunes, you can't beat a bit of Wham! and Mariah Carey. While, of course, I have also been playing my Michael Bublé Christmas album on a loop (which I may have stolen from my mum).

I asked one of my Spanish friends if we could go shopping for Christmas presents for our parents at some point last week as it was getting a bit close to the date. He said not to worry and that we would go at the weekend or on Monday (Christmas Eve!) One thing I have noticed about the Spanish is that they don't prepare for anything too far in advance, even making plans. I did go shopping this weekend and it was lovely to see all of the lights and decorations, I got a real sense of celebration and cheer without it being thrown in my face.

Maybe somebody, somewhere, got confused along the line, perhaps we're all trying to be ready in time for Thanksgiving - a holiday which fortunately the British don't seem to have jumped all over yet, let's not hold our breath though. The 25th of December seems to be a mythical day away for those out late night shopping every week from the beginning of October. Why do people feel so smug because they have wrapped all of their gifts before November?

The saddest thing is people forgetting the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Leave rushing around for a moment and have a think about why you're doing it. Are you just another commercial target falling right into the trap? Why don't we just take time to breathe and celebrate and enjoy Christmas for what it actually is? There is no need for everyone to work up until Christmas Eve so that when Christmas Day actually comes, they are all miserable and sleep-deprived, wishing the day to be over and dreading work the next.

As I write this now there are articles in the papers about Amazon's sale starting on Christmas Day. Must anyone stoop to that level? I don't think it's right to blame Amazon, after all, they don't even need to have any staff working. We need to take a look at the sort of people we've become, if we can't even go one day without the sense that we are missing a bargain. Be more than another Christmas statistic, love and cherish your family, the shops will still be there tomorrow.
                                                                                                                                                      

I would also like to take this moment to wish all of my blog readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I hope you all keep reading throughout 2013 while enjoying everything that comes your way. This blog has now reached over 5,000 views and my only wish is that it continues to grow throughout next year. (It will be a sad day when I have to let my Christmas theme and falling snow go!)

Lots of love,
Lauren Marion
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