I am not the Grinch! (En)

Seriously! I'm not. I like Christmas... sure, I think it is, by far, the most depressing time of year, but I like it for what it means, the so-called Christmas spirit, in its kind, loving and generous meaning, not the modern pervesion which is, by and large, a purely commercial spirit.

Here's how they celebrate Christmas in Costa Rica (and the US, since tha's where this "custom" comes from)...

You make a list. This "wish-list" represents the presents you want from whomever and you give it to your "friends". Then your friends give you their lists and you buy each other presents and everybody's happy. This is common for many celebrations such as, for example, weddings. It is the 'standard' in company parties where you have silly little games such as the oh-so-popular "Secret Friend".

But I suppose I should start from the beginning... which is in OCTOBER! Sometimes even September, depending on how sales fare. But sure enough, come mid-October, you'll see all the stores bringing out the decorations and Christmas trees and the Santas and the candy canes and all that rubbish.

First of all, I hate seeing that red Santa Claus. It drives me insane. It has become a symbol of the perversion of Christmas that I have come to loathe.
No one knows this, but Saint Nicholas as we see him today, the fat guy in the red suit was invented by Coca Cola in 1931... by far the most successful advertising campaign I have ever heard of. And now, for Christmas you buy, buy, buy. There really is no love in this world.

I managed to save my sanity by watching a movie I always see for Christmas (and it was purely coincidental, because it was on television). "Joyeux Noel". If I were to pick one film to say that it was the best I've ever seen, then this would be it.
It is a story about the night before Christmas 1914, when the first World War was raging through Europe, a group of soldiers decided that on the holy night, the killing would stop. So the Germans, the French and the British soldiers all spent Christmas together.

That, my friends, is the true spirit of Christmas.

And here is the trailer (I'm sorry, I could only find it in French).



Spoiler
And here is a scene from the movie: The night before Christmas