Do they know...Yes! They're not idiots!

So it's that time of year again.  Since I'm completely done with shopping for presents (seriously; if you decide to get me something, it will not be reciprocated, because I'm done, dammit!) and I even managed to wrangle the tree into the stand and get it straight all by myself--do you know how long that takes, by the way?!--I'm pretty well into the holiday spirit.  The additional present of Adam and I clearly stating that we would not get each other anything for our anniversary (two years today!) certainly didn't hurt (though ironically, our parents got us stuff).  No cards, no presents, nothing.  It's glorious.

But the carols are starting up, and I'm a total sucker for Christmas carols.  I'm not Christian, and neither is Adam, but we'll both happily sing along (badly) to all the Jesus-y tunes the season has to offer, and we don't always change the lyrics.*  That said, I'm not a big fan of Band-Aid's Do They Know it's Christmas?  Why?  Well, I ignore a lot of the lyrics that imply the entirety of Africa is a desert, that there are no rivers and no rainfall, so that doesn't bother me.  But do they know it's Christmas?  Well, do they have a calendar?

I'd like to say that the vast majority of Africans are not Christian, but a 3 second wiki search tells me otherwise.  As I do in so many things, I blame the English (and the French, Dutch, Italians, Belgians, Germans, Portuguese, and Spanish), who decided to take on the White Man's Burden (amongst other issues of money, power, and resources).  So I have to rephrase my answer to "they do have calendars in Africa, you know, so shut up and offer actual help instead of singing the same tired old song for minimal financial returns."

Ok, all done :)  Happy Yule and Solstice!

*My personal favorite that Adam taught me: We three kings of orient are / One in a taxi, one in a car / One on a scooter, blowing his hooter / Smoking a fat cigar