Apparently, it is time...

[lagilman]

for the seasonal icon.

Dear stores/radio stations/general population: WAIT UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING, DAMN YOU!

I am not a Scrooge. I just would prefer not to be slammed every time I turn around by (mostly) annoying jangles and tunes celebrating a holiday that isn't going to happen for another FIVE WEEKS.

That said, yes, I have begun my holiday shopping already. Hannukah is OMFG early this year, although most of my family will get their usual "here, go buy some books/new kitchen toys" present. Because we really are that easy to shop for... *g*

Comments

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

They've started over here, too.

Mind you, 'they' haven't tried to impose Thanksgiving over here, so Xmas is the next major event.

[lagilman]

Yeah, but your place shuts itself down for the entire 24 hours, not even pretending that there are Folk Who Don't Observe. We (allegedly) don't have a State Religion...

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

That's where you lot are going wrong. The CoE does a useful job of inoculating the general populace against the more wacko snake-fondlers.

As a result, our state religion is de jure, rather than your de facto one.

The whole shutting down thing is annoying, though. You can end up spending a lot more for lunch on Xmas day, what with the restricted menus in many places.

[lagilman]

Speaking as someone whose relatives had a few run-ins with the "this is the obligated religion, either follow or face consequences" routine in several different nations, I think I prefer the locale where the cops aren't empowered to knock heads about it. Thanks anyway.

And as someone who used to fly in/out of the UK over the holidays, not being able to have mass transit is....mind boggling. So much for visiting friends/relatives [or any travel at all], if you don't have a car.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

True - I'm very glad that we're not at that level these days, though there is still the rather obnoxious rule against the head of state being permitted to be a Roman Catholic (on the conflict of interest of actually being the titular head of the CoE). And the closest we've had to a Jewish PM was Disraeli, who became CoE at the age of 12.

The odd thing here is the way politicians downplay whatever religious beliefs they have, rather than the opposite. Blair only really came out as a religioso once he'd stepped down.

[jennielf.livejournal.com]

I am so glad to see I am not the only one.

The holiday season starts the day after Thanksgiving, thanks.

I LOVE the icon. :)

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

I have this whole theory about why christmas music is so damn irritating. Basically, every year another round of tunes come out, but only the catchiest/more earwormy stick around, so every year the stuff you hear is more and more likely to get stuck in your head. Kind of like antibiotic resistant bacteria.

That, and it's like EVERYWHERE for six weeks a year and like you said, that keeps creeping northward.

[lagilman]

That, and it's like EVERYWHERE for six weeks a year and like you said, that keeps creeping northward.

Yes. This. I have a number of seasonal DVDs (mainly liturgical chants and chorales) that I pull out around December 15th, because they go well with the darkening of the days and the colder weather, but having it slammed into my ears every time I turn on the tv or dare go into a store (even the -supermarket-!) before 1 December should be coded as assault, IMO.

At least the radio stations that go all-Christmas all-the-time I can just avoid until they return to sanity.

Interestingly, I feel no such animosity toward the decorations, probably because in NYC they tend to be more secular than overtly Christian. Wreaths, ribbons, and candles, and the occasional Giant Grinch in the front yard...

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was calling used bookstores trying to find an out of print book yesterday ... only 1/4 was playing Christmas hold music, but that was one too many.

[martianmooncrab.livejournal.com]

We saw Santa at the Mall yesterday.

[lagilman]

If you see Santa in the mall, kill him.

[stephen-dedman.livejournal.com]

Think yourself lucky you're in the US. Halloween isn't celebrated much here, Guy Fawkes Day went by the way when fireworks were restricted, and we don't have Thanksgiving*, so Christmas decorations started appearing here in September!!!**

* I was once fired from a law firm because no realized it was Thanksgiving in the US and that there was no-one in the NY office to reload the fax machine.

** The traditional excuse for selling Christmas stuff in October is that it can take two months for surface mail to reach some places from Oz - but I don't think that justifies putting Nativity scenes in windows in September.

[wiredwizard.livejournal.com]

At the Mall they had Santa's Workshop or whatever they call it to take pics of kids w/ a psuedoSanta assembled & open Nov.1. However, some stores were already putting up the displays of xmas decorations for sale middle of September... (yes, I'm looking at you Canadian Tire...)

I wouldn't mind so much the xmas music if on occasion they played a song I liked, like Christmas At Ground Zero by Weird Al...

[lmlawson.livejournal.com]

Yesterday I was in the break room at work and saw a calendar with the beginning and end of the 10 days of Hannukah posted on it. I thought there were 8 days in Hannukah. Are you familiar with this? I'm just curious as to what it's about.

[lagilman]

ah, er, what?

(There are 8 days. Really. This isn't the kind of thing that suddenly gets updated. The only thing I can think of is that someone wasn't aware that Jewish holidays go sundown-to-sundown, and so counted the day-eve and the day-after....)

[lmlawson.livejournal.com]

Ah, I was afraid I was missing something. Your explanation makes sense. Thanks!