Holiday Reflections

I have to admit that over the years, I truly came to hate Christmas and so much that it represented.


Bah and Humbug!


Many years ago, the Christmas Season followed Thanksgiving.  In more recent years, the commercial madness started with Halloween or even before.  All the hype, advertising, commercialization, the often overdone decorations, the plastic Santas lit up everywhere and the PRESSURE.  There was never any doubt as to how many more shopping days until Xmas.  Christmas became Xmas.  Xmas became this monstrous, horrid thing.  The poor children.  They were deluged with all the advertising ...... brainwashed, driven to a frenzy. Truly victimized.  The total insanity of it all.  God, I grew to hate it.  


Christmas became Xmas and Xmas belonged to Madison Avenue, Hasbro and Toys R Us. (Sorry, can't get the 'R' backwards.)


I could go on and on about the perversion of what should be a lovely time of year ...... but I won't.  You should get the drift by now. 


Switch Now to Cuenca:   


You want to know what Christmas is about here?  (I can only observe from my standpoint .... only give my impressions.)  But Christmas here is about F-A-M-I-L-Y.  Yep, family!  Wow, what a cool concept.  Take a look at the pictures from the prior post.  It is the Christmas parade of the children!  There are still parades almost daily.  NOT the Parade of Roses.  Not the Macy's Parade.  FAMILY parades.  Funky ..... not grand.  The parades are full of children and parents.  Oopsie, can't forget to mention the fireworks.


You gotta love it!  It is like it might have been long ago in the states.  You know ...... 'the good old days'?  I don't know for sure what it was like 100 years ago in the states.  But I suspect it was more like it is here now.


I am not totally naive.  I know that Christmas is a commercial event here too.  But, it is a far cry from the perverted insane nightmare that it has become in the states.  


Okey dokey.  All done with my little rant.


Life is Sweet,
Clarke