The holidays are here!
Well it is more than in the air, honestly it is everywhere! And it has been everywhere since October 1st when a few radio stations started playing Christmas carols and all the stores put up their decorations...pretty intense to say the least. But in fairness, they don't have Halloween or Thanksgiving to buffer the onslaught of the red and green...so why not start it early?!?!? I would!
But it gets better, this October getting ready business was just a warm-up. Even though every corner you turned was a sign reading Feliz Navidad with a crazy looking Santa and a cute/gremlin looking little kid that looked like he/she was almost laughing or about to cry...anyway my point is, that this was just the beginning. It was about to double in intensity!
The official, official start to the holiday season does not start here until the local brewery/one of the most powerful families in the country tells you it is the start of the holidays....by erecting the biggest tree you have seen in your life, in the middle of the main thoroughfare, simultaneously shutting down traffic on said main thoroughfare because people are so excited they cannot seem to drive and look at the tree at the same time (I more than once honked at someone for stopping, full on stopping, in the middle of rush hour traffic to get a better look), temporarily ceasing power to most of the city because they put such a strain on the power grid by lighting up the beast, and then shooting off some of the most spectacular fireworks you may have ever witnessed (coming close to rivaling the 4th of July show on the Mall) and in fact so big and so close and so loud that they set of the all the car alarms in a five mile radius. By no other words, big, over-the-top, absolutely outrageous, incredible. And a little terrifying.
The message was definitely sent....the holidays are here!
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And click here for a little propaganda video that keeps cracking me. It is super grainy because I think someone literally videotaped their tv screen. But that makes it even better in my eyes. Enjoy!
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And then like that, the Christmas decorations around the city doubled. I thought the whole city was already decked out and in the spirit, but no, not even close. The very next day following the tree lighting, everything went on steroids. Every radio station is now playing Christmas tunes, decorations now hang from every single street lamp/large structure around town, the street vendors are now hocking reindeer antler headbands instead of back scratchers and there are elves at the mall.
But honestly, however over-the-top and a bit early all of this is for my taste (I like to give both Halloween and Thanksgiving their fair share)...it is actually really touching and sort of fun. These folks do not mess around, they LOVE Christmas and they are going to celebrate it, celebrate it, celebrate it! And I am not one to argue....bring on the parties! I have a few cocktail dresses I have been wanting to break out of the closet!
And this year we are not living in a hotel, sans all belongings, wondering what we got ourselves into...so I am ready for the double the intensity holiday spirit. I need to make up for what me missed last year!
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