It starts off at the end of August long before the nights start getting long and cold and the leaves start falling off the trees. Christmas lights, gifts and wrapping paper start to go up for sale in the shops and from then on we are being constantly reminded of the number of shopping days left to go.
Christmas is a Christian festival and as I am not a Christian I fail to see why I should have anything to do with it. Even a lot of Christians agree that their event has been turned into one big commercial money making racket.
With 3 months to go until December 25th the money making racket is in full swing. Childrens TV channels are being saturated with adverts for the toy industries overpriced hype of the year, a nightmare for the children who's parents cannot afford it and a bigger nightmare for the parents who don't want to disappoint their children.
Everyone is socially forced to do "christmas shopping" which is buying overpriced junk for other people because you know they are doing the same for you. Everyday products such as bubble bath or chocolates wrapped in loads of excess packaging then sold for about 3 times the usual price. Some of the things are completely useless, will never be used and will be confined to the attic or some other storage space for the next 20 years.
By the start of December all the Christmas lights start going up, which can be effectively summed up as a competition of who can waste the most electricity. Every supermarket, shop and radio station have "The best Christmas album in the world ever" CD constantly on repeat. Cliff Richard and various other people you never hear about anymore crawl out the woodwork to release an album because there is always some sad people who will go out and buy it.
People suddenly go out buying food in amounts that would normally only be understood if there was a nuclear war about to break out. A lot of this food will never be eaten and go to waste. On the subject of food people have the strange habit of eating food that they would never touch at any other time of the year. Turkey has to be the most bland and tasteless meat I have ever eaten.
Then you have carol singers knocking at your door which in this day and age consists of a bunch of Chavs who think after singing one line of jingle bells that you are going to provide them with their nights beer and drug money.
In the final week there is usually a works Christmas party, drinking alcohol in the company of your boss and various people who make your life difficult is one dangerous combination.
When Christmas day comes round thats all the build up is for, just one day. Overeating, drinking and watching some of the worst TV ever. Then being made to feel guilty when we see how the poor and homeless have to cope, pity the media didn't pay them the same amount of attention the other 364 days of the year.
There's not that much you can actually do on Christmas day as everywhere is completely full of people or else closed down. If you go out you have to put up with the people who only drink alcohol once a year and end up fighting, throwing up or falling over and are a nightmare for everyone else. Taxis and nightclubs often charge 2-3 times the usual amount Christmas and new years eve.
Then there's the aftermath, looking and feeling like living proof of life after death, having a carpet covered in spillage and pine needles that are an absolute nightmare to clean up, unwanted christmas presents, loads of excess packaging that will probably end up in landfill, strained friend and relationships caused by the stress and drinking and in a lot of cases a massive debt that will take the best part of the new year to pay off !!!!!
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