Somebody Save Me!

Every year, in November you start hearing the Christmas music until the new year has dawned, that is a whole two months. What could be rather annoying is that the programming on radio stations change completely. "Forget your favourite music, for the next two months you will hear Alvin and The Chipmunks or Christmas Shoes. Now go ....yourself."

The radio stations are not the worst of the problem. Malls: The stores trying to sell you any junk and convince you that your big aunt needs another "exfoliation kit". Most people don't have cash lying around. So, we all give our credit cards muscles some good exercises and blow the month's mortgage payment on buying mostly junk that others don't need.

I am sorry. I shouldn't insult the spirit of gift giving. I mean we do need at least one gift-giving occasion per year, if you don't count birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers and house-warming parties. Otherwise, who would ever buy ugly picture frames, bath kits that you never use, scented candles, red sweaters and boxes and boxes of chocolate!

But that's not why I need to be saved.

Television goes bust, too! All favourite shows go on vacation and during prime time you can watch (50yr old) re-runs of A Christmas Carol. Call me Scrooge, but the worst of it really is the commercials. The usual Christmas songs are not bad enough on their own, but Wal-Mart changes the lyrics to include their sale items this years.

Seriously! Somebody save me!

I get it. Once a year, we need to make some noise and send people into some frenzy to be able to clear the warehouses of all the stinking leftover unsold crap like cars, TVs and furniture.

But if you are not even Christian and keep saying "Merry Christmas" to everyone in the elevator, you have been pissing me off.

"Are you ready for Christmas?" they ask. "Am I? Ever?" It comes too early and hits you in the head like a tone of brick every year!

Don't get me wrong. Taking a break for a few days and spending time with family and friends is just fine. But can we please take a moment and appreciate the holiday for what it is supposed to be (whether or not the whole story is even true!) ?

Perhaps even if we all agree that the story is just a fable, it is a nice fable about justice, tolerance, compassion and helping out the unprivileged. Maybe we should wake up and see what we have done in Afghanistan and Iraq. And if we really believe in it, we should take a look at Africa and ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?".

Sometimes I wish it could just stop! For one year, maybe. We are spinning out of control, or at least my nerves are, slowly but surely!

Somebody Save Me!