1. Commercialism. Now I'm certainly not gonna spout out religious sound bites that Christmas has lost its true meaning because 'Jesus died for us' bollocks. But there are some people (especially those with young children) who enjoy the magic and sparkle of Santa Claus bringing presents on his reindeer and all that jazz. Yet this notion has seemingly been eternally corrupted by the new spirit of Christmas: shopping! A pastime which people indulge in far too much anyway the rest of the year round becomes a national obsession in December; so much so that stress takes over any feelings of joy. It's almost as if (and sorry about the religious reference again) 'Glory to god in the highest' has been misconstrued with a simple spelling mistake to become 'Glory to god in the High St'! Which brings me on to my second point.
2. Child competition. Some mothers even fight in stores nowadays in order to get the last fashionable toy off the shelf for their beloved children who are apparently somehow better than anybody else's children. Perhaps if parents bought their children little gifts all the year round then they wouldn't feel so much pressure to perform at Yuletide. Or perhaps - and this is a big one, I know - children should be brought up to understand that money and materialism don't encapsulate all of the saving graces of this planet. Wow, wouldn't that be something, to have a child with a sense of morality regarding wealth.
3. Inane happiness. If I'm generally pissed off with the world then - believe me - a few baubles, a bit of tinsel, a fake tree and a fat man in a bright red suit drinking Coke ain't gonna make a damn bit of difference to me. But some people seem to think that Christmas gives them the right to lecture me for being too serious. It simply doesn't. And finally...
4. The same bloody simple-minded music. There are a few good Christmas songs, especially The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's 'Fairytale of New York'. But most of them are just shallow attempts at cashing in on the festive season with very little real effort. I wish that Slade and Wizzard would fuck right off.
I'm looking forward to being visited by three ghosts this year; only I don't think that the ghost of Christmas past will have much good to show me.
