Christmas Mood

We were in the city center just a couple of days before Christmas. To our surprise, we felt the Christmas Season atmosphere has dampened in compare to our memories of yesteryears. We saw fews lights, fewer decorations, fewer Santas, very few traditional Christmas carols, though there is no shortage of people wandering back and fro looking for something.

It causes us to wonder, what should be the Christmas atmosphere?
Perhaps we all have different expectations groomed by our year after year celebration. What is your concept of a "merry Christmas"?

This may be a short list of your expectations:

1. Christmas cards: this used to be the first reminder of Christmas when we open the mail box way before the holidays and began to receive REAL Christmas cards, then hang them up on a string... but how many cards did you receive this year? Some how, even e-cards are getting fewer and fewer...
2. Christmas gifts: great excuse to go shopping, probably people enjoy the long hours of shopping experiences more than the people to whom they give the gifts to!
3. Christmas deco & lights: great photo session with friends and a must for boy/girl friend.
4. Santa: another great photo session especially for those who have young kids.
5. Christmas songs and /or the annual church event: surely it is time to get emerge into 'proper' Christmas spirit with the oldies tunes.
6. Christmas home deco & tree & huge family reunion with the long lost cousins: Keep busy...
   
7. Christmas dinner: no excuse not to go! Otherwise will surely feel like a scrooge to eat by your self on the 24th.
8. If none of the above appeal to you, there is always the last but not the least option: fly away to a strange land to break away from the familiar home town atmosphere.

What is Christmas to you?