--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Richard J. Williams" wrote: > > Have a very merry Christmas, Barry!
You, too, Richard. Truth be told, I have fewer issues with the holiday than I do with the cult that invented it. I like the lights, the colors, the decorations, and the feeling of giving that sneaks through the cracks no matter how degraded and commercial the holiday gets. Christmastime is a little less commercial here in the Netherlands, BTW. Possibly it's because the Dutch are frugal, with a capital Cheap, and thus don't shop as much, period. But they certainly don't seem to go as crazy as Americans when it comes to "Christmas shopping." The very *concept* of a "Black Friday" would cause them to laugh. The lines in stores -- even TOY stores -- are short and well-behaved, and many of the merchants get into the spirit of giving (as a kind of tax-writeoff loss leader, of course) by giving away free coffee, tea, pastries, treats, and other goodies to shoppers. I could walk the length of our main shopping drag Haarlemerstraat today, sample each store's freebies, and come away feeling as full as if I'd eaten a full meal. And, whether its forced or artificial or merely the result of media/culture subliminal suggestions, most people ARE more friendly this time of year IMO. If you'd like to attribute all that to Baby Jesus, I don't have any problem with that. Me, I tend to attribute it to a yearly holiday that pretty much everyone looks forward to because it's a holiday, dummy. It's an excuse to celebrate, and be with friends and family. What's not to like about that? BTW, as one of the only comments I'll make to some of the incredibly bigoted and Islamophobic shit being posted here recently (clearly by those who have never lived in largely Islamic neighborhoods surrounded by Islamic people), some of the best and most bountiful free feasts along Haarlemerstraat are in the shops owned by Muslims. They get off on the holiday period, too. I suspect one could even be a meth dealer and like Christmas... :-) [https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/q71/s720x720/1488135_10151\ 822986372091_511835358_n.jpg]
