XMAS LIGHTS

Well it appears to be that time of year again as Xmas lights and decorations are starting to spring up all over the place, here in OK Falls. I have been told that these are the early birds, the harbingers of garish colour, kitsch and bright lights to come.



In my short time in Canada I have quickly come to the realisation that Canadians just love to have an excuse to decorate their house with all manner of trinkets and the only thing that is better than that is the opportunity to dress oneself in outlandish costumes and not be thought the worse for it.



First on the agenda was the change of season from summer to fall (autumn). Here, if you are indeed a good Canadian you have to place scarecrows on your front porch and a wreath of autumn leaves on your door. Now I don't know if this is some type of pagan or perhaps christian ritual that us Down Under heathens have allowed to pass by or maybe it is that our storekeepers aren't savvy enough to cash in on another consumer bonanza that has hapless citizens racing about to purchase a scarecrow to place upon an urban porch without nary a crop in sight.



Shortly after Canadians had welcomed fall to their doorstep they wage war against turkeys. Thousand upon thousands of turkey's paid the supreme sacrifice to decorate Canadian Thanksgiving table feasts. Families come together to celebrate what I am not sure. I know why Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, but I am still unsure what Canadians celebrate on the day.



No sooner are the turkey carcasses removed from the dining room table when Canadians take to the fields to collect over sized pumpkins that are grown for the distinct purpose of being mutilated and then illuminated in a front yard. It seems a little incongruous that there are millions starving in the world and all these pumpkins are grown to simply amuse and then left to rot away.



Canadians really throw themselves into the Halloween celebrations. Just up the road from our place a family dug a hole in their front lawn and deposited a full length coffin which contained a skeleton. The whole scene was cordoned off with special Halloween tape and floodlights illuminated the area.



What a show.

I have to place my hand up in the air this time as I too plundered peaceful fields in search of the perfect Halloween pumpkin. An 87lb pumpkin was the best we could do and we proudly sat the pumpkin on the front lawn only to be embarrassed and disappointed a few hours later when a neighbour deposited a pumpkin twice the size on their front lawn.



The shame of it all!



The impending Halloween frenzy was too much for me I had to escape back to Australia to find a Halloween free zone. It almost worked and I was only accosted by three groups of small children presenting themselves at the front door of my son's house. I envisage in years to come someone will have to go to some remote and backwards place like New Zealand to escape the clutches of the Halloween beast.



I can either deny all that goes on in regards to these celebrations and claim that they are un-Australian or I can join in.



So how do I get on the roof to hook up the illuminated Santa and reindeer's!

On a personal note it would be nice to know if I am writing this blog for an audience of one....ME. If anyone else out there is reading this leave a comment. Nothing much just something to let me know that I am not alone.