Just thinking how the december hype was one of the major reasons we dropped TV altogether. During all those years in the US, whatever we were watching with any regularity was inevitably going off air for the duration of it, and replaced with some appropriate content for the occasion. Which I don't mind if the occasion is a day. But it extended to four, five weeks. And as there isn't any special merchandise, apart from turkey cookers, to be seasonal to Thanksgiving, the dominance of the only two permissible colors over the shelves would begin immediately after Halloween.
The message to us heathens was clear: you don't count. We, the christians (lowercase, because we had to distinguish the muslims as believers from Muslims as members of an (invented) nation), own everything, including public space, airwaves and whatnot. There's nothing for you here, watch this or nothing. Specially annoying were the ringers for Rotschield's army (aka salvation).
So we'd generally turn the TV off after Thanksgiving and give it a shot no earlier than new year's night.
Now in Serbia it gets a bit complicated. This is a stereo country. During my absence, the church has grown some wings (read: got into several deals with the government), so it's managed to make its Christmas as a practically official holiday. It being one of the most medieval institutions still around, it still sticks to julian calendar, so even those holidays it shares with the rest of their general persuasion come thirteen days later. It will be fourteen days in the XXII century. OTOH, here in Vojvodina, the populace is a rather weird mix of nations, so there are many who celebrate these things according to gregorian calendar (the catholic, the protestant, the romanian orthodox and a few others), so we practically get everything twice. Two new year's nights, too. Even the school winter recess, which traditionally fell between january 15th and mid-february and coincided with semester end, is now moved to cover all of these.
However, it is not so all-pervasive as in the US. You can get around for days and not notice any hype. Having no TV and no radio helps a lot, of course, but then it didn't help as much over there. And I have a hunch that the new year's night is still bigger than either Christmas, which feels good to me. The new year comes to everybody, believe(r) or not.
The message to us heathens was clear: you don't count. We, the christians (lowercase, because we had to distinguish the muslims as believers from Muslims as members of an (invented) nation), own everything, including public space, airwaves and whatnot. There's nothing for you here, watch this or nothing. Specially annoying were the ringers for Rotschield's army (aka salvation).
So we'd generally turn the TV off after Thanksgiving and give it a shot no earlier than new year's night.
Now in Serbia it gets a bit complicated. This is a stereo country. During my absence, the church has grown some wings (read: got into several deals with the government), so it's managed to make its Christmas as a practically official holiday. It being one of the most medieval institutions still around, it still sticks to julian calendar, so even those holidays it shares with the rest of their general persuasion come thirteen days later. It will be fourteen days in the XXII century. OTOH, here in Vojvodina, the populace is a rather weird mix of nations, so there are many who celebrate these things according to gregorian calendar (the catholic, the protestant, the romanian orthodox and a few others), so we practically get everything twice. Two new year's nights, too. Even the school winter recess, which traditionally fell between january 15th and mid-february and coincided with semester end, is now moved to cover all of these.
However, it is not so all-pervasive as in the US. You can get around for days and not notice any hype. Having no TV and no radio helps a lot, of course, but then it didn't help as much over there. And I have a hunch that the new year's night is still bigger than either Christmas, which feels good to me. The new year comes to everybody, believe(r) or not.
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