Your Own Personal (Inflatable) Jesus
I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far
-George Cromarty and Ed Rush
It's only December 14th and I am already quite sick of the Christmas season.
One think I do like, however, are Christmas decorations.
I love the light displays the trees the ornaments, ribbons, and pine bowes and all that. It's festive and keeps winter nights from seeming too bleak.
Of course, I've never been too keen on the nativity scene... um ... scene. I prefer a more secular theme for this winter holiday. I've also lost my taste for those giant inflatable yard decorations which seemed kind of clever a few years ago now seem down right lame since some people (and yes, I mean you family that lives on my corner) starting literally filling their yards with 6 foot snow globes, 8 foot Santas (popping in and out of the chimney) and 12 foot statues of Frosty the Snowman.
So, when I saw the inflatable nativity scene (mind you the one in the photo is pretty tame, the one I saw had the full cast and a twelve foot manger!) on a lawn in a friend's neighborhood. I was completely blown away!
Congratulations on winning the Tackiest Xmas Decoration of the Season Award Mr. and Mrs.
McChristmastine! You've earned it!
posted by Shifra @ 8:56 AM
25 Comments:
Christmas was one of the big reasons I made Aliyah. I was hammered with it beginning in mid july when we started to work on Christmas ads all the way through early January. Here it is mid december Chanuka is all around.
What I can't believe is radio stations that play Christmas music 24x7 starting right after Thanksgiving or earlier. Even if I were a Christian I'm sure I'd get sick of that pretty quickly! I'm glad that the station I listen to (Q104.3) plays the seasonal tunes *very* occasionally until maybe the 24th, and plays mainly the good ones when it does.
The link is no longer available without a subscription, but an old cartoon had a picture of a man standing on the street with a radio, his finger on the button and a big sign:
"Will not play holiday music for food"
(time once a gain for a loud, rousing rendition of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" for the 15th consecutive time...)
Why are you sick of Christmas already?
Frankly, I love this time. Its the only time in this country where something around actually changes and seems festive. Its so bland the rest of the year. Lifeless. Obviously, the commercialism sucks, but hey, its not like I am celebrating it. I just like the change of atmosphere.
Actually my boss has been out of the office using up his vacation days most of this month and he seems to be in a great mood when he is here so no complaints here is the season is the reason!
HH, you make a good point. When I can blog again (beta-blogger is now blocked from my office; why did I migrate????) I have some ideas for a "why I like Christmas" post.
Does that mean your IT department is not a "beta-blocker"?!
Haha, I crack myself up!
Clever! I guess that also relates to the hope that their stupidity doesn't give me hypertension!
They apparently think beta-blogger is an Internet e-mail site, but regular blogger isn't. Go figure.
(time once a gain for a loud, rousing rendition of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer" for the 15th consecutive time...)
I don't think I've heard GGROBAR in about eight years. You gotta change your radio station, friend DTC!
Some of the not-too-overdone wreaths are nice. The drunken office parties are always interesting, on some level. Other than that, Christmas season -- I could take it or leave it.
People don't seem cheerier where I work. They seem more stressed and grouchy. The end-of-the-year looms and sales quotas must be made....
My office sucks big time. I work at a Jewish Community and they had a Chanukah party today. But did they order kosher pizza so I can eat as well?
Nooooooooooooooooooooo.
Those bastards were standing behind me the whole time. And some jerk comes to me and asks me if I want a pepporoni pizza. And yes, they know I keep kosher.
arrrrrrrggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhh.
Not only that, but the office is going to be closed for 2 weeks. And am I going to be paid?
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo
Hopefully, Santa will find me a new job.
One of my neighbors got a 7 foot inflatable bear spinning a dreidel.
The 8 foot menorah was sold out.
Elie,
Each time I change my radio station I hear another version of some similar song.
(and of courese, every couple of years you hear about the story of the DJ who was fired for playing GGRBR for x consecutive hours.)
I laugh so much harder at those inflatable things now.
I can't wait to see a manger one.
I hate all the Hallmark holidays, but I have to say, xmas is the worst! And now my 3 year-old daughter is obsessed with all the decorations, especially our next door neighbors'. Every morning now our walk to school is a discussion about the beauty of lit reindeers and wreaths!
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For those with a truly irreverent bent:
http://www.jesusoftheweek.com/jesii/420/index.html
(But wait! There's more!)
please add index.html to the link above - for some reason it keeps cutting it off...
Hi table nine-
It is kinda sad that a holiday you don't celebrate can take over your life that way but I don't think the phrase "Hallmark Holiday" applies to Xmas.
I think that term is reserved for holidays with no historical basis and nothing to commemorate developed with soul purpose of making money (mothers day, fathers day, secretaries day etc...)
Shifra, I wouldn't say Xmas has taken over my life in any way, but sometimes its presence can be a little blatant and "tacky," as you described the mentioned nativity scene.
I would never, G-d forbid, insult another religion by deeming its sole purpose as "Hallmark." But I can hardly call the current Xmas and Chanukah (or I should say, Hannukah) state of affairs in this country meaningful. I doubt that Jesus or Yehuda HaMacabee (l'havdil) would approve of mothers shoving each other in store aisles for the last TMX Elmo, or couples breaking up for not buying each other the right IPOD. When we forget the true meaning of these holidays and celebrate them only with a gratuitous dreidel or an inflatable nativity scene, then we are putting them into the same categories as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and all the other "Hallmarks."
I won't mention the industry I'm in (because it would be easy to guess out which company in the Bay Area I work for), but man, I've been yuled under since the end of summer.
What we need is life size inflatable Christmas figure punching dolls.
I could also suggest an ultra-violent Christmas video game...
But some smart geek has probably already put a downloadable patch to GTA on the internet that satisfies that need.
Hey Shifra, how about a new post. What on earth am I paying my dues for?
I frequently joke that Christmas is the only time of year that some of the locals here allow Jews on their lawns.
The really sad part of this is that the last time I made this joke, people (non-Jews) around me said in a serious tone, "They're (the folks in the nativity scenes) not Jewish... are they?"
nice post. thanks.
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