As expected, Costco has had xmas going for a couple of months already, even Giant (our local grocery store - yes, we have a Giant on our side...) has had a great big snowball on display for three weeks now, and every time we go by, Cecilie jumps up and down and shouts "I LOVE xmas, so much!".
I don't think it was the "rubbing of the lamb" (sounds either perverse, or sacrilegious, I can't decide which, so it is staying), but it could be that my sister confirmed that she was definitely coming, combined with the fact that we have a proper front porch now (-think tasteful display) and that Kirsten came down with a cup of coffee this morning and said, "it's almost time to add ginger bread syrup". Yeah right, ALMOST-- levys broke and the flood gates opened... I now have ginger bread syrup in my coffee and xmas in my heart!
Growing up with xmas beginning
on December 23rd (little christmas eve) and lasting to the 13th day, I might have been a little bit reluctant (well, maybe for one year I was reluctant...) to adopt what can only be described as "bringing it on, early and long" strategy to the whole thing. However, I am now a full convert (who cares about "Advent" anyways - pink and purple doesn't work with red AT ALL, and all that other stuff that supposedly comes before just doesn't fly). You will find Norwegians not having a single "red day" between 17th of May and Christmas. Americans have what's called "holiday season", which is shorthand for "summer is over and to not get too depressed we need something to take our attention away from the change in weather and the shorter days". It empirically works wonders, and I can only feebly guess what it would do to the English and their national psyche if they successfully managed to adopt a similar tool; they might even win the World Cup!?! (Clearly, just having "Premier League season" hasn't really cut it, and Guy Fawkes, who the hell is he, anyways?).
Let's be truthful (secularly speaking): Ramadan, Leif Ericson Day, Sports Day, Columbus Day,Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Lailat Ul Qadr, Eid, Halloween, Culture day, Armistice, Thanksgiving and the Immaculate Conception, even Zwarte Pieten, are all nice to have, they are like sub-plots in a novel - let's all get out of the closet and start celebrating Baby Jesus, born to rock, and ginger bread syrup in our coffee!
If you are in dire need a holiday, you could always check out this site. There is plenty to go around: tomorrow is national cinnamon bun day in Sweden!!! Appears to me an excellent way to fight seasonal depression.
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