Thursday 3 February 2011

Mr Christmas

These are my pre -Christmas photos. Did not get an opportunity to publish them until now.

I was out shopping and saw a lady with this very seasonal shopping bag. (top photo)Yes in India people associate Christmas with snow and snowmen.
I took pictures of a wayside Christmas decorations stall.. Many of the buyers were from other faiths. My newspaper held a Christmas tree competition and everyone on the winners list were Hindus.
India is a very homogeneous country and people enjoy each other 's festivals. I just pray they may know the real message of Christmas.
China , a country not very favorable towards Christianity is flooding the world with Christmas decorations. In India they sell more than Indian made ones. China is exporting Hindu religious articles also.
Here is the story of one man who tries to celebrate Christmas all through the year.

Andy Park (Mr. Christmas)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Andy Park, is an electrician from Melksham, Wiltshire, England, who styles himself "Mr. Christmas" after claiming to have celebrated Christmas day every day since July 1993.

In 2001, it was estimated that since he started celebrating, he had got through 30 artificial Christmas trees,
10,000m of tinsel
and 10,000 balloons,
at a (then) estimated cost of £100,000.
In 2005, he released a single entitled "It's Christmas Every Day", with a video featuring Mike Read and produced by Andy Whitmore. There were suggestions in the media that much of the information released by Mr Park was false, and simply to attract publicity for the single:

"His local newspaper, “The Wiltshire Times” tell us it has given up trying to do any stories on this man. Apparently, their photographer has shown up at his house several times, unannounced, in hopes of catching him celebrating. Yet, Mr. Christmas has not even let him in the door. So what exactly is going on here? This might shed some light. His latest video for his latest Christmas single. And it is just about as bad as his Christmas sweater. So there it is , media hustler. We‘re obviously outraged on behalf of ourselves and all other media giants who got even slightly taken in by this clown."— Keith Olbermann[1]

He claims that each day he eats breakfast (turkey sandwich and mince pies),
then goes to work, until returning around at lunchtime to eat a full roast turkey dinner before watching a recording of the Queen's Christmas speech, sherry in hand.
In 2006, it was reported that the Queen had politely declined an invitation to broadcast her speech from his house.

In an interview published in 2006, Mr. Park was quoted as saying that over the previous 13 years, he had consumed
4,380 turkeys (one a day),
87,600 mince pies (20 a day),
2,190 pints of gravy (half a pint a day),
26,280 roast potatoes (six a day),
30,660 stuffing balls,
219,000 mushy peas,
4,380 bottles of champagne,
4,380 bottles of sherry
and 5,000 bottles of wine.
However, in 2001, he was warned by his doctor that the diet was affecting his health after his weight increased to 19 stone (121 kg).

He claims that, on the 25th December each and every year, he does not celebrate Christmas.
This story is just too bizarre. This man might be a hoax.

You can celebrate Christmas everyday if you have Jesus in your heart.
It will not cost you your health or money.

7 Fertilize my soul:

Abigail Jasmine said...

Great to share Christmas with you!

Your banner photo of the birds made me LOL!

Lots of love ~

Nadwrażliwiec said...

I heard about plans which was about saying not "Merry Christmas" but "Happy Holidays" in UK and USA. But I didn't know, that Christmas are also so common in India. In December I saw many Chinese Christmas products in shops - people buy them, because they are cheap. I guess that snow in Northern India (Himalaya, Kashmir) isn't anything strange, but how it looks in central or southern regions?

Kathryn said...

Love the pics, Amrita. It is good to know we share so much (most especially a love of Jesus) even in cultures so radically different.

Is this a pleasant time of year there? The cold weather gone but the hot not yet arrived?

Blessings on you. Thank you for your words at my blog.

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
Of all bizarre people this man is the worst.
If he had celebrated by going to church every day, I'd respected him.
This man is all package and no contents.
Sad.
Beautiful pictures though.
From Felisol

Anonymous said...

Pretty and colorful photos..we too are getting alot of Chinese cheap products..in many places people are refusing to buy them so that is a good thing in my way of thinking....
hope somehow the Lord will move hearts to realize the true meaning of Christmas...
here in the States we are moving away from the Happy Holidays greeting and going back to Merry Christmas....another good thing......a small victory....
hugs from sunny California

Pia said...

i love christmas decors. i always enjoy buying little cute things for our tree, but that was a long time ago. i still love decors though.

Amrita said...

Dear friends thank you for your sweet comments.

Felisol, you hit the nail on the head. That 's right Alan Parks is all tinsel and ribbon with nothing inside. Celebrating something he probably doesn 't believe in, what a sham.