It's nearly Christmas!

Christmas is creeping up on us fast this year... I noticed that Christmas had come to the Regent Arcade, as I wandered through town the other day and saw all the twinkly lights and heard all the tunes floating down from the ceiling. Now I know that most people hate Christmas by this time of year, but I can't help feeling a huge childlike excitement about it all! I love the atmosphere and Christmassy vibe, the grumpy old man selling reindeer antlers in town from a triangular stand on wheels - they just make me laugh as they are the kind of people that you could extract from the Kemble Brewery ('the locals', not the Hitchman crew!!), plonk on the street in their navy blue BHS winter coat, stick some cheery antlers on their heads and watch them look like death on a plate with a ridiculous hairdo!

People seem to go a bit retail-mad around this time of year... I was in 'pahynd-lan' (poundland) the other day, innocently looking for a toy mobile phone for a uni project and I was shot by a small child with a 'realistic noises' machine gun!! Now I have never come face to face with a real machine gun, but from televised experience, I have never heard one make laser noises and especially not laser noises that sound like a pregnant cat (the batteries were going).

I was also met by the classic "McKenzie!!! You arrrrr NOT 'avin' that, put it DAYNNN!!!!" I smiled to myself and left the shop, unable to find what I was looking for.

Naturally I am disappointed, angry in fact, that Jesus is being pushed out of Christmas. I hate the fact that most advent calendars are now 'countdown calendars' for new year. I also get fed up with the number of snowmen, singing Santas and slightly unfortunate looking elves that cover the shops. I was in Wilkinson glancing through the Christmas array and could not find a single thing that related to Jesus, the true hero of Christmas. Now this is what I don't understand... How can taking Jesus out of Christmas make it less offensive?!! I am incredibly offended on the Lord's behalf about it, but noone seems to mind what Christians may think about this. I wonder what would happen if we took all Hindu elements out of diwali so that everyone could celebrate it?! How ridiculous would that be? It is a Hindu festival. So why can the Christmas commercialists get away with it?

I really want to be able to come up with something 'cutting-edge' that can give Christmas back its true meaning... Something far more attractive than singing santas that you just want to throw across the room by the third round of "here comes suzy snowflake"!! Any thoughts?

That said, I do have a place for all the pretty things at Christmas, but only as aids to celebrate its true meaning - they can make it feel very special. I think that when it gets to Christmas eve and you are STILL running around like a headless chicken buying last minute items, that you start to feel a little bit sick. There is just too much 'stuff'.

I am just musing out loud really, I could say so much more but I am not really sure what purpose I am musing for! I hope that it is on the Lord's behalf.