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WELL, HALLOWEEN IS done and dusted for another year and that means the country’s retailers are turning their focus to the festive season.
Christmas is still 52 days away but many shop windows have been lit up and selection boxes line supermarket shelves already.
Some people like to get into the festive spirit as soon as possible after Halloween, but others prefer to keep the Christmas cheer at bay until December.
So, today we want to know: Have you started getting ready for Christmas yet?
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Of course not!!!! I get ready for Christmas near Christmas.
I just took off my halloween costume ten minutes ago ffs.
Am Christian. However over the years Christmas has lost it’s real meaning, the simplicitity of family /friends having a Christmas Dinner together with no vying to see who out does the other, not worried if we look great or not, helping the poor.
Nowaydays the Large Shopping Centres have little to do with the Birth of Christ and all to do with a Festival of over indulgence, and consumerism, I find it tacky and disgusting. It’s become so Americanized.
@Rosie: I think you need to re-evaluate your social circle. Yesterday you gave out my people being over zealous health freaks etc … I would genuinely question why you are so involved in what other people do. If you want a nice quiet Christmas you should just have that. I have never had a Christmas where people try to out do each other. I absolutely agree it is very consumer driven but you shouldn’t feel forced to buy into that if you don’t want to. Make gifts. Recycle gifts.
@Rosie: Saturnelia lost it’s real meaning when it was appropriated by Christians and turned into Christmas. According to the bible Christ was born in Autumn when shepherds were still out with their sheep in Bethlehem so Christmas is a bit late for celebrating the birth of Jesus. I’ll agree though that hyper-consumerism is sickly in all of its forms.
@Rosie: and thank Christ for that
@Rosie: I will leave this here: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/crossexamined/2018/11/the-true-meaning-of-christmas-according-to-the-zeitgeist-movie/
@Diarmuid Hunt: Thanks Diarmuid but Jesus was born in March and I know all about the Festival of lights and how Christianity tied in with that in order that the Pagans could be won over. I love the real Christmas just not what it has become, and love giving gifts. Thanks for reply.
@Rosie: How do you come to the conclusion of March?
@Rosie: The irony of spelling Americanised with a Z should not be overlooked here!! Christmas is what you make it, as Diarmaid touched on, Christians took it for their own purposes. Consumerism will only affect you personally if you let it.
@Rosie: Dunno about all the made up stuff but would agree that we have lost our connection to a tangible reality, the land, the changing of the seasons. Celebrating the darkest, hardest parts of the year is truly a triumph over our existential situation and is nearly lost for all the unnecessary drama, still we have shelter, warmth, darkness and pints to remind us.
@Rosie: I agree with you somewhat, nothing is stopping you helping the poor or having a wonderful Traditional Peaceful Christmas. While I believe in celebrating Christ at Christmas “The reason for the season” as they say, in fairness people should be able to celebrate it in their own way. I do disagree with your comment saying that Christmas has become so Americanised, I lived in the USA for a long time and I find Ireland is much more commercialised. While you have the large shopping malls in the USA and its very busy at Christmas like most places the Traditional Christian Christmas is massive, with the carol singing, going to mass, having all the pageants, salvation army helping so many and this their biggest fundraiser for spreading the kindness, much more tradition that Ireland these days. But I will as a Christian keep Christ at the center of my Christmas while enjoying how many other people celebrate there’s!
@Diarmuid Hunt: seems to very much point to March – https://youtu.be/ptlsXtTf6n0
@optimanic: That’s a fair explanation, not sure is it how Rosie came to that conclusion maybe it is. I’ve seen a few different interpretations and theories, main thing is none of them point to winter.
@Rosie: So it is not truly Christian to celebrate something that is based in Pagan beliefs. If a Church tomorrow decided to take on Ramadan to ameliorate more Muslims to Christianity and try and convert them people would be up in arms. I just find it strange that you are angry about ‘true Christmas’ being taken over by commercialism as its god when in fact the ‘true Christmas’ you speak of isn’t even very Christian in the first place and in fact you are paying homage to the Roman god Saturn by celebrating it.
I couldn’t afford to leave it to the last minute. Don’t know how people manage that.
@Lisa Saputo: If you have to start organising two months in advance, maybe you’re overdoing it a little?
PS ~ Before you call me scrooge I do buy lovely presents for those I care for and who care for me.
Take notice of peoples faces over the build up to the season, nobody looks happy just stressed at this mad new festival where God is Shopping and Consumerism.
@Rosie: spot on, and that stressful horror period starts earlier each year, making it last longer and longer.
It should be a joyous season, not a money-grubbing, stress-filled endurance test.
The other half put the tree up last night!!I just want the quiet life and a cup of tea
@dick dastardly: I think ye should see other people
The C word is banned until at least December 1st in our house. All that protracted consumerism which starts the minute the costumes come off and pumpkins go in the bin takes the good out of it.
Started in August!!!
@Lisa Quinn: then by that logic, you prepared for Halloween in April
@Lisa Quinn: I started last January by booking flights to lanzarote xmas and new year in the sun☀️☀️☀️
@Mr.Misery: well i dont usually buy my babies toys for halloween…but yes.yes i was prepared. !
@Lisa Quinn: same. Started in August and finished in August. Delighted I don’t have to stress
Wanted to tick the “too f#%*ing early” box
Won’t be long till I start gearing up for it, first Saturday in December is normally when the tree goes up,, can’t wait :)
People are so dumb. Post hidden advert and que the rush to input joke about how person A or B started in January. It’s no wonder that the planet is on a knife edge. Are people this easy to convert into mere consumers. As the Kayne West song said, ‘things they buy to cover up whats inside’. Can we not have a break from the advertisement and consumerism for even a week first? And to the inevitable, your a grinch or why cant you just let others enjoy themselves. This consumerism is destroying the earth and creating huge inequality, greed, corporate wealth and abject poverty for the many.
@The Oracle: Some comment, started by saying people are so dumb and tried to justify it with a Kanye West lyric.
@Daithi De Roiste: why not? He might be a bit mad but his lyric is very clever and apt for the situation. Also, we believe that people who begin to get excited about Christmas in November are incredibly dumb.
@The Oracle: relax there ebenezer.
@Lisa Quinn: We believe that you are providing a perfect response to our original post. Thank you for that.
@The Oracle: start early. And when it gets closer buy more junk then spend the rest of the year pretending to care about climate change. Programmed little bots. Buy buy buy
@The Oracle: we? Have a day off mate.
I stand by what I say, Christmas has little to do with Jesus anymore and all to do with excessive blatant, tacky consumerism [over spending] and people are not happier for it. They are tired, stressed and in debt afterward. The Frued frauds here think I need advise or therapy or to change my c ircle of f riends. wrong. I do not buy in to it, but most do. Happy Christmas all.
Go Away.
Halloween stuff getting put away today. There is not one single solitary Christmas decoration in our house
Have a son leaving for Oz end of November, so Christmas dinner is in 2 weeks and I’ve nothing done.
If I had someone to disappear with to a foreign country over Christmas I would. I really dislike it.
If you can, i’d recommend heading over to Spain for Christmas, plenty go over on their own. They do it the right way, no over hype, jingle bells codology for 2 months. What they do, they do very well and more in line what xmas used to about, people coming together, brilliant cribs in the churches, and only for a few weeks.
@M: come to Vietnam! The build up to Christmas is only a week, but at least you aren’t hammered over the head with ads and nonsense for 2 months! It happens, you enjoy it, and then get back down to business. i really enjoy it more this way.
@Paul Cunningham: It was also a tradition in our family, the one we still keep to this day. Christmas is about good food to enjoy with family and visiting friends, not presents. Tree goes up on the 24th in the morning and go down usually 2nd of January.
Anyone who is shopping for Christmas is either mad rich, foolish or boring. Keep Christmas for Christmas time.
@Manbackonboard: The best deals for everything are in November, particularly around black friday. You’re foolish to wait until December for christmas shopping when the price of everything gets hiked up.
@Rochelle: … and here lies the root of the problem… crass consumerism.
If you really pay attention, you’ll find those deals, and the ones on prime day etc etc etc, really aren’t all that great… but why is buying people gifts more important than spending time with them?
@Todd Hebert: It’s not, gift buying is something to get out of the way early at the best value as possible. December is for spending time and enjoying the holidays with friends and family.
The kind of people hand waving shopping early are the same people who’ll vanish on christmas eve in a mad panic and miss out on spending time with others.
Give it a bleedin rest it’s early November jaysus
Living abroad I am glad I don’t need to put up with Ireland’s obsession with killing Halloween to make people spend more on Christmas. The build is about a week before the day itself, and you know what? It actually means something that way. Ireland could learn a little from that practice of something called patience.
Any mention of the damned thing should be banned until the 1st December. I’m talking about on radio, TV, in shops etc. The constant repetition of it for the best part of two months is frankly irritating and, in my view, the sign of a profoundly mad and sick society.
No chrimbo crapola should be allowed before the first of Nollaig
Started last month, will be finished before November is out so can relax for December!
Won’t Christmas decorations this Christmas cos my mother in law pass away Last April
@Brian Flavin: and you buried the decorations with her?
Starting with the Christmas c**p already Journal? A quite news week?
All done. Shops are too busy come November and December and I’d rather enjoy December with the kids. Without the stress and financial pressure.
I am currently inna Queue to our local shopping centre! Not the norm for a Sunday. The madness has started!
Skipped Halloween went straight into Christmas mode.
We still celebrate Thanksgiving even though we now live in Ireland. So..pumpkin pies and cranberry sauce and green bean casserole come before the Christmas shopping LOL
I’m usually way more organised, cant get into it this year
Bought a box of mince pies yesterday.
Done And Dusted
Why even have this question? It starts in December
I used to go overboard but in recent years I told everyone I would only be buying for the U18s in the family and since most of them would rather money its easy for me to shop.
Of course I have! I’m a professional Santa
I voted ‘no’ because ‘f°°k off was not given as an option
Put my tree up yesterday
@Steph: you’re off your tree!
have your say