Okay...when I read about the secret santa thread this morning, I started out writing why I applaud the effort, but that it wasn't my thing. But as I was writing, I noticed that my text was running pretty long. Worse: the majority could be read as if it was bashing the very idea I started out supporting. And I know damn well that when regarding the content of a message, you can ignore the first part of it when the parts are separated with a ", but..." in between (as in "Your hair certainly is nice and interesting, but I wouldn't have gone for that blue color"). To be frank: the first part is only relevant if you're a woman or on a diplomatic mission.
So I decided to scrap everything before that "but, <insert rant>" and wished them well. I mean...what I was writing about was pretty personal to begin with, and when it comes to things like Christmas you better be in your safe zone if you want to communicate an opinion that's different than what the sum of Average Joe' think. I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas. Luckily, gbatemp has provided these blog-thingies where I can rant about most things I want without hurting anyone's feelings (okay, perhaps feelings can be hurt in here. But when you ignore the title, I don't particularly feel sorry for you).
Anyhow...it's the end of November, and because the world is in the ever-increasing grip of commercialism, that means that Christmas is right around the corner. YEEEEEEY!!!
To start out with the positive: I've got plenty of time off of work (reason: we can't just take vacation whenever during the year, nor postpone it to the next). And radios and everyone on the internet puts up these top 10's of "Best of..." lists, as well as talk about events of past year. I admit I like that. More than I'd like to admit, even.
But as stated, there's that capitalism-thing. From companies' perspective, this is the time that ordinary people need to be grouped together in malls in an attempt to lower their overall IQ until they transform from well meaning individuals into these dungeon-dwelling zombies called "consumers".
*sigh*
When I was little, 6th of December was St Nicolas's day. Not sure to what degree it is celebrated outside Western Europe (or even the Benelux), but this legend of a Saint who healed murdered children (whut?) somehow ended up as a massive lie where parents tell their small children that this old, bearded guy climbs into chimneys to bring the good children toys and candy (this is not Santa, mind you). Learning that St Nicolas wasn't real is one of those first steps towards becoming - in the end - an adult (aka: it's one of the first times where the world smashes that romantic idea of the world being full of wonders). Despite television and the internet now show this guy at every possible corner and in addition to (fake) St Nicolas'es actually prowling every other corner (usually lackeys of toy stores), children maintain their ignorance until...well...until they realize it's best for them that believing the lie makes the job easier for both children and adults (it's not like you GIVE children something because you love them, right? Christ...nowadays it better be a holiday or their birthday, or simply giving something to a child marks you as a potential pedophile).
It's now about 30 years since I was that child, but the giveaways continue. In itself, I don't mind. What I do mind is that other events are creeping up.
Christmas itself wasn't celebrated much at my family. It was get togethers, a tree, some decoration I always thought stupid (I feel about as much Christian as Jew or Muslim...so what's with that baby Jezus? It's not like he really got born on that day, let alone got gifts by three kings who disappeared into thin air directly afterwards...right?
). It was there, but...doable. Some decorations here and there in shopping malls. That was about it.
I'm not sure if the phenomenon has a name, but it should be "Christmas inflation". It used to be a nice touch if you had some decoration on your store or house. But I remember watching home alone when the movie was new (yes: THAT long ago) and thinking that Americans were nuts with how many Christmas decoration they used on average.
That level of nuts has since then become the standard. My parents (and thus my brother and me) weren't very consumer-minded, so we saw no need to buy gifts for each other. For some reason, I feel outlawed when I now bring up the idea that I don't want gifts, nor want to give 'em. Back then it was (at least in my environment) normal.
And it was about to get worse. I learned about the actual existence of Halloween through American horror movies. The whole trick or treating was probably the same thing as "Driekoningen" on our part (I'd translate it to "Three kings", but that sounds more like that anti-war movie with George Clooney). Driekoningen is where children go out to sing a stupid song about Christianity, hold open a bag and hope that good people would give candy. Okay, so Halloween is more like a maffia-like treat for kids (pay us or we'll vandalize your stuff!), but the outcome's the same. And I dig the horror story theme around it a lot more than Driekoningen (so the idea is they dress up as the kings who donated some stuff to Jezus. But what's the purpose of the day? Why is it on 6th of January (so AFTER Christmas)? Is it symbolizing them realizing being broke on that expensive baby shower and being reduced to beggars? Why are they begging for candy rather than gold, myrrh and incense? Why are they referred to as both "kings" and "wise men", when they act like neither? What the fuck is myrrh in the first place?
...but I digress. In any case: Halloween sneaked up on Belgium (and probably the rest of Europe or even the world). At first it was television programming horror movies (AWESOME!!! ). Then it was all sorts of decoration (oooh...a rubber bat. Funny furry spiders. Vampire dolls that are somehow more cute than twilight). And the last few years, I see kids go trick-or treating. I'm glad adults know better and have no candy at hand. So far.
New to this year is weird yet understandable: black friday. I don't know if that has any folkloristic background, but it symbolizes my aversion to the whole thing more than anything else. For some reason, shopkeepers stamping "-30%" on the stuff that doesn't sell makes people insane. And they do. Oh, God, do they do.
The hilarious part is that stores don't even bother hiding their intentions anymore*. Some commercials talked about "black friday weekend". Others simply stated that it was black friday on a sunday. And monday got dubbed cybermonday because it was something one could dub monday.
To my utter regret, I needed a couple pants. Yes, they could have been cheaper than on any other day, but what I mostly remembered was the stampede of people. Suddenly, fucking clothing stores were THE place to be. You had people buying shit they didn't need freaking everywhere. And I think I saw Cut-me-own Throat Dibbler selling hot dogs. In the middle of the shopping mall. Right next to a bistrot.
Granted, I can't deny that there's a silver lining of "okay" in this situation: since people are hoarding gifts for others, at least it's better if they don't cost as much. Or in reverse: since the allocated budget hasn't changed, perhaps people now give something to each other that doesn't come straight out of a discount bin (erm...something that would ALWAYS be in a discount bin, obviously).
I don't get my hopes up, though. You see, up until a few years ago, one of the perks of being single in an exeptional non-buying-frenzy-family was that I could just buy myself what I wanted. When I wanted. And if I wanted. You see, I'm not familiar with the idea of "consume less"**, but I do know when I've got enough stuff. And I know because I bought stuff until I had enough stuff. It's not that I no longer buy non-food, but it's less and more considerate. Frankly, I hate it when someone in a red coat and white beard urges me to buy stuff I hate*** to gift to people I don't care about for the remainder of the year (okay, I admit: I don't particularly care for them at Christmas either).
It certainly doesn't help that my life took a sudden stroke downhill just before christmas three years ago (note: it's better now), but I did end up with an inlaw family that loves giving gifts. And with that I mean that they love giving gifts. It isn't about receiving. It isn't about who might possibly have a use for it****. I can't but explain it in a rather sad way: I think they're trying to fill that hole in their stomach that got there because large companies convinced them they were only whole when they exchanged their hard-earned money for useless trinkets.
My girlfriend probably bans me from having a say in the Christmas gifts this year too (I dared ask her what the girlfriend of her brother might need...IIRC she got a fondue cooking pot in the end). And I've got to think of something I might want that meets the criterium of "looks funny" and "cheap"***** that conceals the fact that it actually might have a USE. I'll probably end up asking for a board game that can fill up the cupboard of "games I want to play with my girlfriend when she's ever in the mood". But really? All I want right now is a time machine that transports me to mid January.
*then again: if I had a store, I would push black friday more than any other of these days as well: it takes far less budget to decorate, and the store becomes more crowded than a freaking mosh pit.
**the Dutch "word" 'consuminderen' can't even be translated: the word "consumeren" (to consume) contains more or less the Dutch word for more, and the opposite (do less, or "verminderen") nicely fits in there as well. In English, it would be something like consulessing, consumessing or consumfewering
***I swear: nowadays, stores are filled to the brim with stuff that has no function but "to look nice". And I'm not talking about pornography.
****last birthday, they got me a watch. One that showed the time in an absurd and practically impossible to read way. One that was so ugly I wouldn't even wear if it was the last watch on earth. One that could, in other words, never compete with the fact that I was already wearing a watch...for months!
*****I never cared for foods or drinks (at least not in this segment).
So I decided to scrap everything before that "but, <insert rant>" and wished them well. I mean...what I was writing about was pretty personal to begin with, and when it comes to things like Christmas you better be in your safe zone if you want to communicate an opinion that's different than what the sum of Average Joe' think. I don't want to ruin anyone's Christmas. Luckily, gbatemp has provided these blog-thingies where I can rant about most things I want without hurting anyone's feelings (okay, perhaps feelings can be hurt in here. But when you ignore the title, I don't particularly feel sorry for you).
Anyhow...it's the end of November, and because the world is in the ever-increasing grip of commercialism, that means that Christmas is right around the corner. YEEEEEEY!!!
To start out with the positive: I've got plenty of time off of work (reason: we can't just take vacation whenever during the year, nor postpone it to the next). And radios and everyone on the internet puts up these top 10's of "Best of..." lists, as well as talk about events of past year. I admit I like that. More than I'd like to admit, even.
But as stated, there's that capitalism-thing. From companies' perspective, this is the time that ordinary people need to be grouped together in malls in an attempt to lower their overall IQ until they transform from well meaning individuals into these dungeon-dwelling zombies called "consumers".
*sigh*
When I was little, 6th of December was St Nicolas's day. Not sure to what degree it is celebrated outside Western Europe (or even the Benelux), but this legend of a Saint who healed murdered children (whut?) somehow ended up as a massive lie where parents tell their small children that this old, bearded guy climbs into chimneys to bring the good children toys and candy (this is not Santa, mind you). Learning that St Nicolas wasn't real is one of those first steps towards becoming - in the end - an adult (aka: it's one of the first times where the world smashes that romantic idea of the world being full of wonders). Despite television and the internet now show this guy at every possible corner and in addition to (fake) St Nicolas'es actually prowling every other corner (usually lackeys of toy stores), children maintain their ignorance until...well...until they realize it's best for them that believing the lie makes the job easier for both children and adults (it's not like you GIVE children something because you love them, right? Christ...nowadays it better be a holiday or their birthday, or simply giving something to a child marks you as a potential pedophile).
It's now about 30 years since I was that child, but the giveaways continue. In itself, I don't mind. What I do mind is that other events are creeping up.
Christmas itself wasn't celebrated much at my family. It was get togethers, a tree, some decoration I always thought stupid (I feel about as much Christian as Jew or Muslim...so what's with that baby Jezus? It's not like he really got born on that day, let alone got gifts by three kings who disappeared into thin air directly afterwards...right?
). It was there, but...doable. Some decorations here and there in shopping malls. That was about it.I'm not sure if the phenomenon has a name, but it should be "Christmas inflation". It used to be a nice touch if you had some decoration on your store or house. But I remember watching home alone when the movie was new (yes: THAT long ago) and thinking that Americans were nuts with how many Christmas decoration they used on average.
That level of nuts has since then become the standard. My parents (and thus my brother and me) weren't very consumer-minded, so we saw no need to buy gifts for each other. For some reason, I feel outlawed when I now bring up the idea that I don't want gifts, nor want to give 'em. Back then it was (at least in my environment) normal.
And it was about to get worse. I learned about the actual existence of Halloween through American horror movies. The whole trick or treating was probably the same thing as "Driekoningen" on our part (I'd translate it to "Three kings", but that sounds more like that anti-war movie with George Clooney). Driekoningen is where children go out to sing a stupid song about Christianity, hold open a bag and hope that good people would give candy. Okay, so Halloween is more like a maffia-like treat for kids (pay us or we'll vandalize your stuff!), but the outcome's the same. And I dig the horror story theme around it a lot more than Driekoningen (so the idea is they dress up as the kings who donated some stuff to Jezus. But what's the purpose of the day? Why is it on 6th of January (so AFTER Christmas)? Is it symbolizing them realizing being broke on that expensive baby shower and being reduced to beggars? Why are they begging for candy rather than gold, myrrh and incense? Why are they referred to as both "kings" and "wise men", when they act like neither? What the fuck is myrrh in the first place?
...but I digress. In any case: Halloween sneaked up on Belgium (and probably the rest of Europe or even the world). At first it was television programming horror movies (AWESOME!!!
). Then it was all sorts of decoration (oooh...a rubber bat. Funny furry spiders. Vampire dolls that are somehow more cute than twilight). And the last few years, I see kids go trick-or treating. I'm glad adults know better and have no candy at hand. So far.New to this year is weird yet understandable: black friday. I don't know if that has any folkloristic background, but it symbolizes my aversion to the whole thing more than anything else. For some reason, shopkeepers stamping "-30%" on the stuff that doesn't sell makes people insane. And they do. Oh, God, do they do.
The hilarious part is that stores don't even bother hiding their intentions anymore*. Some commercials talked about "black friday weekend". Others simply stated that it was black friday on a sunday. And monday got dubbed cybermonday because it was something one could dub monday.
To my utter regret, I needed a couple pants. Yes, they could have been cheaper than on any other day, but what I mostly remembered was the stampede of people. Suddenly, fucking clothing stores were THE place to be. You had people buying shit they didn't need freaking everywhere. And I think I saw Cut-me-own Throat Dibbler selling hot dogs. In the middle of the shopping mall. Right next to a bistrot.
Granted, I can't deny that there's a silver lining of "okay" in this situation: since people are hoarding gifts for others, at least it's better if they don't cost as much. Or in reverse: since the allocated budget hasn't changed, perhaps people now give something to each other that doesn't come straight out of a discount bin (erm...something that would ALWAYS be in a discount bin, obviously).
I don't get my hopes up, though. You see, up until a few years ago, one of the perks of being single in an exeptional non-buying-frenzy-family was that I could just buy myself what I wanted. When I wanted. And if I wanted. You see, I'm not familiar with the idea of "consume less"**, but I do know when I've got enough stuff. And I know because I bought stuff until I had enough stuff. It's not that I no longer buy non-food, but it's less and more considerate. Frankly, I hate it when someone in a red coat and white beard urges me to buy stuff I hate*** to gift to people I don't care about for the remainder of the year (okay, I admit: I don't particularly care for them at Christmas either).
It certainly doesn't help that my life took a sudden stroke downhill just before christmas three years ago (note: it's better now), but I did end up with an inlaw family that loves giving gifts. And with that I mean that they love giving gifts. It isn't about receiving. It isn't about who might possibly have a use for it****. I can't but explain it in a rather sad way: I think they're trying to fill that hole in their stomach that got there because large companies convinced them they were only whole when they exchanged their hard-earned money for useless trinkets.
My girlfriend probably bans me from having a say in the Christmas gifts this year too (I dared ask her what the girlfriend of her brother might need...IIRC she got a fondue cooking pot in the end). And I've got to think of something I might want that meets the criterium of "looks funny" and "cheap"***** that conceals the fact that it actually might have a USE. I'll probably end up asking for a board game that can fill up the cupboard of "games I want to play with my girlfriend when she's ever in the mood". But really? All I want right now is a time machine that transports me to mid January.
*then again: if I had a store, I would push black friday more than any other of these days as well: it takes far less budget to decorate, and the store becomes more crowded than a freaking mosh pit.
**the Dutch "word" 'consuminderen' can't even be translated: the word "consumeren" (to consume) contains more or less the Dutch word for more, and the opposite (do less, or "verminderen") nicely fits in there as well. In English, it would be something like consulessing, consumessing or consumfewering
***I swear: nowadays, stores are filled to the brim with stuff that has no function but "to look nice". And I'm not talking about pornography.
****last birthday, they got me a watch. One that showed the time in an absurd and practically impossible to read way. One that was so ugly I wouldn't even wear if it was the last watch on earth. One that could, in other words, never compete with the fact that I was already wearing a watch...for months!
*****I never cared for foods or drinks (at least not in this segment).
