Green Christmas
Thanksgiving always puts me in a romantic mood. For example, I was telling my wife at the dinner table last Thursday that, whenever I see a turkey, I want a leg but, when I see her, I just wanta’ neck.
I hope all of you had as wonderful a “Turkey Day” as we did here at Motley Manor. In the meantime, over at the Miley Cyrus household (Miley Manor) I heard they were celebrating “Twerkey Day.”
It seems like the Christmas shopping season is beginning earlier and earlier each year. This year, the annual holiday advertising blitz began the day after Halloween. Retailers couldn’t even wait for Thanksgiving to end before offering their “Giant Holiday Sale” promotions and extending their shopping hours.
Stan Freberg, an influential master of off-beat humor and parody, who created hundreds of humorous television commercials for products such as chow mein and prunes in the ‘50s and ‘60s, released his groundbreaking “Green Christmas” record in 1958, demonstrating the absurdity of the over-commercializing of Christmas.
“Deck the halls with advertising, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. Tis the season for merchandising, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.” (“Green Christmas” Stan Freberg – 1958)
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is now known as “Small Business Saturday,” which is an excellent concept because it’s always a good idea to support your local merchants…and besides, who needs to get trampled, shot or stabbed at Wal-Mart? Then there’s “Blue Sunday,” where it’s against the law in as many as 27 states to shop or buy certain kinds of products (such as tobacco or liquor), or even to shop for anything at all on Sunday. Not only that, but it’s also illegal for stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine to be open on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Profits never need a reason, fa, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la. Get the money, it’s the season, fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.” (“Green Christmas”)
Talk about crass commercialism…now we have “Happy Honda-Days.” It’s their way of reminding us that Christmas contains the letter “S” twice and they’re both dollar signs (“Chri$tma$”).
And now a word from our sponsor… “We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas…and please buy our beer.” (“Green Christmas”).
Excuse me while we have another commercial interruption… “Say, mother, as sure as there’s an X in Christmas (“Xmas”), you can be sure those are Tiny Tim Chestnuts roasting… Tiny Tim, Tiny Tim, chestnuts all the way… Tiny Tim’s roast hot like a chestnut ought… and they’re mild, mild, mild, mild, mild.”. (“Green Christmas”)
I guess what Freberg was saying over 60 years ago, and what I’m trying to remind you of today, is that some of us seem to have forgotten the spirit and reason for the season. With this thought in mind, I hope you remember just whose birthday is being celebrated.
Keep it flyin’, Uncle Mott