Merry Christmas

Click image to enlarge

Here's wishing a Merry Christmas to all my regulars, visitors, and faithful spam bots.
May you all have a good and peaceful day.

 

The night before

Click image to enlarge

Christmas Eve is upon us. Decorations are up, and shopping is done unless you're a complete procrastinator. All that's left is to do is set out a snack and wait for Santa to wiggle his bulbous girth down the chimney (or from under the sink if you're in Japan as we discovered in the Stray Kids Christmas video). Sit back, relax, and enjoy the evening.

  

Victorian Christmas cards

Click any image to enlarge

During Easter I frequently post Victorian Easter cards which are, to put it mildly, rather bizarre. I decided to see what Victorian Christmas cards were like. Uhhh...  that may have been a bad decision.

Above we have a young lad in a teapot, presumably the adults are brewing some ankle-biter tea. Below we have snowman's ghost with a club getting ready to waylay a pedestrian, and then Santa Claus is committing armed robbery -- I suppose that is either commentary on Christmas commercialism, or perhaps Santa raising funds to pay his elves' salary.  

From there on the cards continue to be strange. I assume the cards are meant to be jokes, but, like a Hieronymus Bosch painting, time has stripped the visuals of their meaning leaving only oddity behind. At any rate, if you get one of these cards this Christmas, will it be from friend or foe?

Meri Kurisumasu!

Well, another odd TGIF post. During the Christmas season, figuring we've all heard traditional Western Christmas songs over and over by now, I always change things up by posting some Japanese Christmas songs.

While not an official Japanese holiday, Christmas is still quite popular and celebrated. Not being a Christian nation, the Japanese have jettisoned the religious elements of the holiday. However, they embrace the secular trappings: Christmas trees, Santa Claus, decorations and so forth. 

On Christmas families will gather for a meal, often, and oddly enough, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Meanwhile Christmas Eve has morphed into a couple's holiday akin to Valentines Day. 

That explains Japanese Christmas music. They are either parties, lovey-dovey couple stuff, or, like the above video, both mixed together (while the band members are dancing about doing J-Pop girl group sort of stuff -- bouncing on couches, acting cute, and giggling a lot -- the singer is happy she has a boyfriend now so she doesn't have another lonely Christmas). In the video immediately below, they've changed 'jingle bells' into 'single hell', and we have the travails of a dateless salaryman. 

The rest are a sampling of other J-pop Christmas tunes, with my favorite being the last which has a level of frantic insanity that is very J-Poppy in its weirdness.

 

Nutcrackers

No, this post isn't about Tchaikovsky's ballet, nor is it about young ladies that majored in 'Womyn's Studies' at one of our fine universities, rather it is about the decorative Christmas nutcracker that is ubiquitous during the holidays.  

The above video gives a historical overview of its evolution from a tool for cracking nuts to its current form as a colorful staple of Christmas decor. Below is a video of a German factory that produces them.

 

Merry Chistmas to you all

Holy Family by Lourry Legarde
(click image to enlarge)

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow -

 

The Big Man's warning

He’s making a list and checking it twice,

gonna find out who’s naughty and nice,

Santa Claus is comin’ to town.

- Haven Gillespie -

It is Christmas Eve and so one could reflect on the true meaning of the holiday. Either that or, depending on your family's tradition of whether you open presents tonight or tomorrow, you could greedily focus on the gifts instead. 

And I don't mean the 'tis better to give than receive' blithering of do-gooders, I mean the stuff you'll get. Will it be your heart's desire, some junk headed to the back of your closet, or a lump of coal? Well, Santa has been spying on you all year so you better -- like I'll have to -- rely on his mercy over your year of foibles. 

Regardless of the quality of your gift haul, have a Merry Christmas. Oh... and Peace on Earth and all that too.

      

Christmas tree paintings

Click any image to enlarge

A smaller than usual collection of paintings featuring Christmas trees. Enjoy them as you go through your pre-holiday frenzy.

Christmas TGIF

Just before Christmas I have a different TGIF music video post. I figure we've all heard the usual Christmas songs about a gazillion times, so I post Japanese Christmas songs for a change.

While strictly speaking, not a holiday, Christmas is popular in Japan. However, since Japan is Shinto and Buddhist it is does not have religious trappings. The Christian elements have been stripped out and only the secular remain: Santa Claus, decorations, presents, snowmen, jingle bells and so forth.

Christmas day will feature a family dinner, often times and oddly enough a bucket of KFC fried chicken. However, Christmas Eve has morphed into a couples' holiday akin to Valentines Day. That is why a lot of their Christmas music ends up being sappy love songs like the one above (and what sort of a dope proposes with an empty ring box?).  

The video below shows the travails of dateless salary men on Christmas Eve. Of course, Japan being Japan, nobody does ridiculous quite as well as Japanese girl bands, and so we follow with a few of those, ending with my favorite which starts frantically and only gets more insane. 

Merry Christmas

Click image to enlarge

This Lord of natures today was transformed contrary to His nature; it is not too difficult for us to also overthrow our evil will. - Ephrem the Syrian 

  

Santa on his rounds

Santa's Big Night by R.j. Mcdonald
(click image to enlarge)

One Christmas Eve in my childhood, my dad asked if I wanted to leave alcohol out for Santa. I agreed but said to only leave a little as I was afraid I'd wake up on Christmas morning and see Santa drunkenly circling over our house in his sleigh. ― Stewart Stafford

  

Christmas TGIF

This TGIF music post will be a bit different. By this time of the year we've heard all the Christmas songs about a million times. So, for a change I bring some Japanese Christmas music. 

The Japanese do celebrate Christmas, but because they are a Buddhist and Shinto, they do it differently. The Christian elements are largely absent while secular elements remain: Santa Claus, Christmas trees, lights, decorations, snowmen, and so forth. The Japanese have also added a few of their own touches: A bucket of KFC chicken for the Christmas meal and Christmas cake being the most notable.

While Christmas is celebrated over several weeks and is a time to spend with your family and friends, Christmas Eve has morphed into a couple's holiday, more akin to Valentines Day than anything. Hence the above Japanese Christmas song, where they've changed 'jingle bells' into 'singles hell' as they bewail their dateless quandary. 

A lot of their Christmas songs are sappy and sentimental, but of course, Japan being Japan, some of it is quite frantic and insane. Immediately below is my favorite. It starts out rather energetically and gets more ridiculous as it proceeds. Following that we have a boy band doing a schmaltzy Christmas love song, but at least the video is nicely done. Then we have a girl group singing about a Funky Glitter Christmas, whatever that is. 

The final video is A Winter Fairy is Melting a Snowman. I have no idea why the fairy is doing that, but it is, However, be forewarned -- the song has an ear worm that, if it burrows its way into your noggin, may cause some temporary brain damage. 

Anyway -- Merry Christmas to all my regulars, visitors and faithful spam bots.

Making glass Christmas ornaments

This factory is Krebs Glas Lauscha. They specialize in glass Christmas ornaments. If you follow their link you can see their offerings. 

 

The humble office Christmas party

What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.

- Phyllis Diller -

  

Merry Christmas

 

In the City of David by Jorge Cocco Santángelo

 

Great gift ideas for the children on your list

The Robots Came for Dinner on Christmas Day
by Elbrie de Kock

Greeting meatsacks, it is I -- the Robotolizer -- here, in the spirit of human/robot harmony, to assist you pitiful dimwits in purchasing the proper toys for your children. Above is a collection of cute, cuddly and non-threatening robots (please ignore the laser cannon mounted on the one in front) that will help your little tykes get comfortable around their electro-mechanical friends. Such familiarity, in the advent of a hypothetical minor robotic police action, will greatly ease their minds as they take a fun trip to their new classrooms in the bauxite mines.

Speaking of education, in our bright new future there will need to be some slight adjustments made to the curriculum. While robots come off the assembly line ready to work, we notice new humans spend an inordinate number of years mired in sloth and doing nothing but mooching off of adults. Clearly, for the good of our human buddies, such juvenile lassitude needs to be corrected. While nobody is expecting a toddler to swing a pick in the mines, certainly they could build character and work ethics buy hauling around buckets of rocks for their upkeep.

At any rate, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy them while you can!  

Different Christmas music again

This time of the year I figure people are getting tired of the same ol' Christmas songs, so I dig up some Asian Christmas music for a change of pace. Asia, not being Christian, doesn't pick up on the rfeligious themes of the holiday -- instead they have adapted the secular trappings: Santa, Christmas trees, decorations, twinkly lights and such. It is none-the-less, a very popular holiday.

It actually evolved into a couple's holiday, similar to Valentine's Day, although meeting with friends and family is a big part of it. The song below, where they change the lyric 'jingle bells' into 'single's hell' is a pretty good demonstration of that. 

The girl bands do crazy better than the boy bands, but I did want to include a boy band. I had to watch about a bazillion of them to pick one out, so I figured you may as well suffer as well. If nothing else, aside from some minor brain damage listening to it, you'll get some snazzy fashion tips. I rounded the post out with a couple from previous years, ending with my favorite one because it is just so insane.

The office Christmas party

Office Christmas Party by Leonard Freed
(click any image to enlarge)

“I always think the opening moments of a party are the hardest, before everyone has had enough to drink.” ― Stephanie Clifford

Merry Christmas

Nativity by Erland Sibuea

Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today's Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday. - Gladys Taber

 

Waiting for Santa

The main reason Santa is so jolly

is because he knows where all the bad girls live.

- George Carlin -