Sunday, November 29, 2009

Forcing Christmas Spirit Down Our Throats

One of the major shopping streets in our city has begun to force Christmas spirit down our throats.

I happen to work on this street at the moment and as such have to walk past the offending area every day. The loud Christmas music blaring from the building is bearable. Even the ridiculously dramatic Christmas advertisements that are shown from adjacent buildings onto the street can be ignored. But the fake snow that is blasting from the roof of the building throughout the street I simply despise.

It tastes disgusting and clings awfully to clothes. More than this, it is a completely hollow attempt to create some sort of a Christmas feeling throughout the city. I previously explained my unease around this season and while I do encourage everyone to enjoy the holiday time I myself still struggle with it. While the lights and decorations are artificial, they are mainly inoffensive. This powdery nonsense is an inescapable reminder of the coming Christmas.

It is artificial and so is the sentiment that the store is trying to create. It almost never snows around Christmas in this area. The weather is far more likely to take that turn in late winter or early spring. So not only is this fake snow an attempt to create an early commercial frenzy of spending, it is one that does not have any real context in this country. The capitalist extremes that are always bubbling under the surface at this time are increasingly overt.

Never has it been more obvious than this artificial, unintelligible gimmick.

-The English Student

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