Fuddland

In case anyone is thinking that it’s a bit late to be writing about how I spent my Christmas, I should mention that today my company finally took down the seven-foot-tall Christmas tree that has been mildly annoying me with its presence every day since Epiphany.

I understand why an English training centre would want to acknowledge some of the Western festivals—since I joined this company we’ve had Halloween, Thanksgiving [whatever that is] and Christmas events—but I think it’s as important to show that they know [not to mention teach] about when things traditionally finish and life returns to one not filled with tinsel, plastic foliage and flashing lights. [Actually, I think that last one might be a little hard for them to swallow—after all, this is a country in which each and every tree is lit up in garish green as soon as the sun sets, all year round.]

When I grumbled to a few people around the office about the tree’s continued display, I was told that the reason it was still up was that it “looks beautiful”, but it looks as though my grumbling about this half-hearted approach to acknowledging Christmas has paid off—although now I don’t get to officially moan about it in the monthly Teachers’ Meeting tomorrow. Bah humbug!