Holidays Are (Not) Coming

Am I the only one concerned by the rather cynical way (in my view) a certain well known manufacturer of a sugary carbonated drink keeps trying to link their product with the season of goodwill?

Yes, their red Artic' Lorry* has been in the area this past week. You know the one with a trademark ribbon device and a picture of the Fat Man on the back. It was parked up near the centre of town trying to entice children inside with the promise of speaking with the man himself and the offer of freebie sugary-ness.

There are plenty of places you can take the young and innocent- so they can tell him their wishes- without having to be exposed to such overt marketing. 

Don't get me wrong I have nothing against this particular product and do in fact drink it from time to time. Have you guessed which one it is yet LOL? Everything in moderation as they say.

I am aware they claim the modern day depiction of the Fat Man owes a lot to their advertising bill boards and so forth but that's not the point. I object to this type of marketing to the impressionable young, in the same way I object to the deliberate placement of sweets and snacks right by the checkout at the supermarket so an already harassed parent gets hassled by an insistent child. The message is clear to me: Kids tell mum and dad to buy our product or you won't have the best celebration or worse still you won't get a visitor down your chimney, leaving you gifts. Ho Ho Ho.  

Oh and I know I bang on about this every year but it's called Christmas, not Holidays. The UK is a largely, for want of a better phrase, Christian nation. So why do some people do everything in their power to try and remove every last trace of the season's true traditions? There was even a report in one of the newspapers yesterday stating that most UK supermarkets seem to have removed almost all seasonal greetings cards with a Christian theme...

Are we ashamed? Is it that we don't want to cause offence to those of other or no religion? If other faiths want to hold celebrations of their own I don't get offended nor do I expect them to hide their traditions or feel embarrassed by them. So why should we pretend that Christmas isn't about the events depicted in the Bible?

And I know the argument there was a Pagan festive at around this time of year long before Christ and that early Christianity hijacked it for their own ends. It's probably very true and I won't stop anyone who wants to hold a Pagan celebration for their family and friends. Or if you truly have no religious belief, you can be free to do as you wish too.

That's what being in a free and fair society is about. So can we please have the word Christmas back and not be afraid to utter it's name?





Recent Royals football results, for any who might be interested:

20 Nov
Watford 1 - 1 Reading

27 Nov
Reading 0 -0 Leeds

11 Dec
Reading 0 - 0 Coventry



* A type of truck.