Holiday Greetings from the Grinch

A Very Happy Holy Day Season to all my readers. (Please note the spelling in that sincere wish.) The word Christmas is nothing more than a modern day adaptation of the words, Christ’s Mass. Now about the “Happy Holidays” phrase. Lately, a bunch of fanatics have totally misconstrued that phrase to be part of their fictitious “War on Christmas,” which was recently invented by some folks with an agenda, such as Fox News. The last time I paid any attention to matters of war, it was only Congress that had the power to make war, and in looking back over the last 235 plus years, they never did declare war on Christmas. The phrase has existed for many decades and I doubt that the crooners who wrote all those catchy tunes in the 30’s 40’s and 50’s had any intentions of demeaning the unique day celebrated on December 25th, commonly referred to in our part of the world as Christmas. It is more likely that people just got very used to wishing each other happy holidays, when parting for the season to spend time with their families. Using the all encompassing term said it all, and did not distract from the true meaning of the greeting. Nobody living or breathing in the “Christian” world needs to be educated what it means: Spend a s*&t load of money on consumer goods to make yourself and the recipient feel the Christmas spirit.(That warm fuzzy feeling in your tummy, no not the indigestion, that will come later.) Spend as much as your credit cards can bear. And who cares that you will still be paying your monthly statements three years from now. After all, what else could possibly convey how much you love someone, than the amount of money you spent on their gift?  So without a large acrimonious debate, can we at last put this issue to rest?But back to Mr. Downer here: After the warm glow of the eggnog has worn off, it’s time to face reality. The first three months of the year will bring the due date of hundreds of billions of Dollars, Euros, Yen, and Reals, Pesos, Pounds, and Wons. And most of the countries that generally buy those obligations are sort of, well you know, tapped out, broke, busted, on the verge of sovereign default. So what will the world’s bankers have to do? Create more money with computers by adding a couple of zeros here and there and pretending that the crisis has been put off by another few months time. But has it really been put off, postponed? Not on your life! Just as sure as water runs downhill, (see: Reaganomics & Trickle Down Economy) so will the world economies. They have reached critical mass, a critical mass that has become an avalanche to which they keep adding fresh wet snow in the form of various artificially created “financial products” being traded back and forth between soon to be non-entities (ECB, Federal Reserve Bank etc). Who in their right minds would have thought that the Euro would become as endangered as it has? (Me) That an unprovoked attack on a Middle Eastern country would run the U.S. off the cliff? That the nouveau rich nations of Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and Italy would practically self-destruct in a drunken sailor spending spree? (Greece is not part of that club; they have been acting nouveau rich for 2000 years while having no resources.)So from me to all of you, Have a Very Happy (insert word of your choosing here) and a very interesting New Year![image: sand sculpture of the Grinch, via Wikipedia]I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.comSee more expat articles by Jamie at
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