she who keeps this diary


02 December 2004 - 9:47 AM

It's not such a bad little tree after all

I am feeling Elsworthy's pain on the subject of Christmas music. I haven't yet been subject to the 'shoe' song this year (though I am sure it's only a matter of time) but there's certainly enough other treacly refuse out there to make me gag.

I'm not a huge fan of most Christmas music, in truth. As a melancholic cynic suffering from seasonal affective disorder, I rather resent being mercilessly bludgeoned with all that good cheer. It just makes me feel worse for not being cheerful.

My sister says my problem is that instead of an inner child, I have an inner cranky old person. She may well be right about that.

Of course, walking into the mall two weeks before Thanksgiving (because I had to go to the mall, because that's where something I needed to buy was) and being deafened by 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' on a thousand and one synthesised strings didn't exactly help. There's keeping Christmas in your heart all the year, per Dickens, and then there's overdoing to the point where it's no longer special. A fine line, to be sure, but one worth keeping in mind.

The lackluster renditions of Christmas 'classics' by pop bands don't help either. The only one I really like is Bruce Springsteen's version of 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' because he sings it with such pure enthusiasm. I get the impression that beneath that gritty, working-man's rock star exterior, there really is a big kid who never stopped believing.

Cards. I call mine 'Midwinter cards' because the whole 'who is which faith' issue is too much to sort out. As Miss Manners remarked in a column a few years back, snowflakes are relatively uncontroversial. Last year we had the Orion of the Klondike (scroll down to the bottom of the page) photo, but this year there are no cute pet photos suitable for cards, and of course I didn't get organised early, so I will have to see what I can find. I probably still have some leftover cards from previous years. Actually, I probably still have some of the Orion of the Klondike cards from last year.

(Anyone out there want to be on my Midwinter card list who isn't already? Anyone want a limited-edition Orion of the Klondike card? Drop me an email).

Shopping. Thank the deities for the internet, that's all I have to say about that.

I should be careful to check the tv listings. I need to watch the Peanuts Christmas special again; that always helps get me into the right mood. And maybe I could pick up some cedar roping for the house this weekend, too.

verso - recto

The WeatherPixie

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