[thechat] xmas light fiasco

[Kevin Stevens]

>    I'm betting that most of the people you know who aren't enthused about
> it are from families who celebrated it in a desultory fashion, rather than
> having strong traditions, because it really does seem to make a
difference.

Not so actually, I think it is more the blatant commercialism of it, as well
as expectations so different from reality. For a start, it is so expensive.
Have you seen the price of cards lately? It's a bit of paper, with ink on
it. I'm a printer by trade, I know how much these things cost.
I remember years ago asking what everyone wanted for Xmas and getting a long
list, sometime in November. The last few times I had to pester constantly
just to get a list of 3 things, when 4 people had to buy for them, sometime
in mid December. I figured if no-one else was enthusiastic about it, why
bother?
Your celebrations in Finland sound fun though. The guy who introduced me to
Evolt lives in Sweden and they usually go to his fiancée's parents place in
the country where there is loads of snow and pickled herring. If there was
snow I'd feel a lot more Christmassy. I like snow :)

Kevin Stevens
kjs at ratking.co.uk