Christmas update

Yesterday, I went to buy a couple of things to a drugstore close to my work. As I entered, my ears were hit by Christmas carols. For a little while, I wasn´t sure I wasn´t dreaming. But alas! (:-) yes here they were, right in front of me, floating above shampoos and sanitary towels. Obviously, according to the management of the shop, we have to be reminded 2 and a half month in advance that Christmas is coming. When I paid for my shopping, I looked into the tired face of the cashier, expressed my deepest condolences for the music and told her I was sorry she had to listen to it already now. She sighed and said: "Thanks. I am so gald you are saying that. Can you imagine that I will have to be listening to it till the middle of January? Three months!"

As if everybody agreed to mess up the calendar on this particular day, I came back home later in the evening and discovered a brand new Christmas catalogue of a hardware store close to my home in my letter box. Has everybody gone nuts?

Even though I do not celebrate Christmas, I do like the holiday atmosphere in the air a lot. I enjoy it even more when I realize I do not have to rush to shops to buy presents and loads of food as the others do and can enjoy just the nice part of the holidays: the lights in the streets, candles and holiday concerts. Carols are one of my favorite parts of the holiday. Holiday special offers are not bad either. However, as we say: "kol davar be-ito" - everything has its time. The same way I would not enjoy fried cheese (that I love) for breakfast, I do not want to listen to carols in fall. The book of Ecclesiastes says: "A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven." Jews and Christians share this part of the Scripture. Every now and than we should remind ourselves of it.