Merry CORPORATE XMAS!

I did it, ladies and gents - I braved one of America's largest chain stores and hated every miserable second of it! In my desperate search for a coffee carafe I braved (oh Goddess, I need to puke...) Target! It was miserable! They were playing Christmas music (have we forgotten about that little holiday called Thanksgiving?) and everything was CHRISTMAS! The horror! I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone and couldn't get out - I cried out in pain and no one from the "anti-corporation society" came to save me - oops, must have forgetten to pay the bill. And they didn't even have the blasted thing! All that for nothing! Now, let me clarify some things. I was raised in a Catholic home (PLEASE don't hold that against me, I've grown, I've changed, I repent...) where Christmas time was filled with cookies and tinsel and trees and decorations and "merry music" and the smells and sounds of...MONEY BEING SPENT AT A G-force YET UNMEASURED! OK, so I do have some happy memories but that is not the point here. The point is is that Christmas =Spending in our money hungry socity! It's about knocking over the dear old Crone next to you to get the LAST must-have doll off the shelf, it's about your house looking more absurd than any other on the block (if I see another damn PVC tree....), it's about obnoxious card with meaningless thought and sentiment being sent just BECAUSE.....Sorry, the Witch family is not having it! We, as Wiccans celebrate Yule, where the focus is on the rebirth of Father, being with loved ones, food o' plenty and happiness. Sure, the Wee Witch will be getting a few gifts (more because I just love her so much than because I HAVE to have her get THE toy of the year...) but that will be a small part of the celebration of life, of family, of Earth, and of giving to others that we will celebrate! So if you insist on running up those debts and and going to corporate crap stores, buy some food for a homeless shelter, buy some socks, jackets, mittens and a teddy bears for a homeless child, buy some dog or cat food for your local SPCA, visit your local Ronald McDonald House with a bag full of donations for those undergoing personal misfortune during a time when everyone else is so obliviously foolish - I mean, happy. Do for others and STOP BUYING PVC TREES AND REINDEER!!!!!!!