I wrote a few weeks back on the start of the “holiday” decorations, but the season of commercial exploitation moved into top gear once Thanksgiving had passed. On the evening of thanksgiving the first houses started hanging lights outside and placing animated illuminated reindeer in their front yards. Every shop is now playing nothing but Christmas music, the only exception was a rendition of “The Red Flag” in a Marshall’s stored last week. (For the irony deficient among you, I know the tune is shared by a German Carol “O Tannenbaum”)
In the UK there has been an increasing tendency to add to drape once house in lights, but here in the US it seems that at least half of the houses are ablaze with festive contributions to climate change. I do see some beautifully decorated and illuminated houses as I drive around the local streets, but all too often I feel the need to travel with a thesaurus to supply me with synonyms for the word tacky.
