Sunday, June 22, 2008

Almost July...

And what does that mean? Why, it's almost Christmas!! That's right, grumpy, Christmas is just a few short months away and I GUARANTEE you it will get here before you know it. Oh stop your complaining and your whining. You love Christmas and you know it (or at least I hope you do). Pretty soon- oh I'd say right around Halloween - the commercialization and materialization of my favorite time of year will begin at an all consuming pace, and there is little we can do to stop it (my other favorite time of year is Easter).

Having said that, not everything that is pertinent to Christmas and commercially driven is necessarily evil or superficial. Take, for example, my all time favorite Christmas movie: Scrooge, starring Albert Finney as Charles Dicken's penny-pinching misanthrope. I simply LOVE this film, which also happens to be a musical adaptation. I watch it year round, and the ending fills me with the Christmas spirit even on a Fourth of July!

Here are two excerpts from the film:

In this video, Ebenezer is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and is taken back in time to a period when he worked for Mr Fezziwig. The song is called "December the 25th!" (I wish that everyday could be December the 25!) and it's fabulous! All of us want a Mr.Fezziwig for a boss (Cathy, I hope you find a job with a Mr.Fezziwig).



This second clip comes towards the end of the film when Ebenezer experiences a conversion of a sort, and leaves his loathsome ways behind. He forgives all of his debtors and they in turn sing with him "Thank You Very Much." Earlier in the film (not shown here), when Ebenezer is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Future, he is taken to a crowd that gathered outside his residence. The crowd begins to sing this same song, and poor old Ebenezer thinks it's to show their appreciation for some wonderful humanitarian act on his part. Little did he know their jubilation and cheerful singing comes from the fact that he is dead.



Okay, that's enough of Christmas in the middle of the year (I think Elton John has a song with that title). I hope these videos have put you if not in the Christmas spirit, then at the very least in a good mood.


BTW, I listen to Christmas carols year-round as well. The more traditional the song the better.

8 comments:

Shirley said...

Tom, thanks for cheering up a rainy Sunday!

Tracy said...

Please, no.. not yet, I love Christmas as much as the next person but my wallet simply doesn't :)

Adrienne said...

I love that movie, too (and I love Christmas and Easter.)

kitchu said...

Oh I have memories of my dad reading Dickens to me when I was little- the Scrooge scared the dickens (ha)! out of me!

Easter is by far my most favorite time of year (Holy Week)- I think because my first was so powerful when I converted and I haven't missed a Triduum yet. Christmas is right up there with it, though lately without mom and in light of what's happened these last few years, I've wanted to skip it. Plus I"ve worked the last 2 and will again this year so that they won't complain when I take that day off once baby is home!

Tom in Vegas said...

Shirley-

I love rainy days! But if the idea of Christmas adds a little sunshine to your cloudy day, all the better:0)

Tracey-

It's coming. It is slowly creeping up on you. It is closer now than when you began to read this post. LOL!

Auntie A-

I LOVE this movie, too! I saw it for the first time when I was seven or eight years old, and it's become a yearly tradition (although, as I wrote in the post, I watch it outside the Christmas season as well).

Kris-

When baby arrives FOR SURE you'll have to take Christmas off! Christmas always makes more sense when kids are around, don't you think? Please keep me informed.

paramedicgirl said...

I realized how close we are getting to Christmas when a nurse told me, on June 25, that Christmas is exactly six months away. I love Christmas, and decorating the house and doing all the baking that people enjoy so much. This year I am hoping for as much family as we can squeeze into our house!

jessica said...

Thanks for the reminder!! I'm planning on making homemade gifts this year and I better get working on them!!

I'm so glad to hear you listen to Christmas music year round, I thought I was the only one!! Nice to know there are others like me out there. :)

Tom in Vegas said...

PG-

The more family you can have, the better. I LOVE Christmas with a packed house!

Jessica-

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one either!