Creepy Christmas
 

Ah, the wonder and magic of Christmas. But all is not jolly - there are some creepy aspects to this blessed holiday season. Growing up, I found this type of ornament to be really weird:

http://victoriantradingco.com/store/.../1a/1a2023.jpg So, anything creep you out about the season?

The one riding the reindeer is hilarious to look at.:p

I've seen some strange ornaments, but none that freaked me out or anything.

Elves.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ne87/elves.jpg

Very creepy. Yuck!

WTF is up with this Santa? I'd be screaming, too!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...2/26948523.jpg

People arranging their lighted deer decor in their front lawns in "indecent" positions...

My Mom grew up in the Baltics and the image of Santa back there and back then was not so benevolent. She told me stories that kids were afraid to be caught misbehaving becuase they would whipped with a tree branch or something like that. BRUTAL!

Christmas Carolers bunch of street performing, glorified panhandling, mooches...get off my lawn!

Just bring them some figgy pudding!

In Bavaria, they would put the bad kids in a sack and shake it- My Mom told me growing up she was more scared of Santa (I forget what she called him) than anything.

Also, creepy Christmas- on ABCFamily they had the new version of Charlie and the Chocolate factory on (the one with Johnny Depp). Not sure why this is considered a Christmas movie, but it is actually pretty creepy.

Kevlar: We're supposed to tip/pay the Christmas Carolers??? I always thought it was church groups or neighborhood groups doing it. I do have a question about the ettiquette though. When you hear them sing you open the door and smile then they proceed to sing 3 songs and you are letting all the heat out of your house. I'm the type that if I knew they were coming I'd have cocoa and cookies ready but it's always spur of the moment and I feel stupid standing there smiling for 5 minutes. What are we supposed to do when they come sing???

I think you are referring to "Black Peter" or Zwarte Piet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Peter

Here is a small copy and paste jobby:
"Zwarte Piet is often portrayed as a mischievous but rarely a mean-spirited character. Parents used to tell their children that if they have been good, Zwarte Piet will bring them gifts and sweets, but if they have been bad, Piet will scoop them up, stuff them in his huge dufflebag and spirit them away to Spain as punishment. Though this is increasingly uncommon nowadays, he can still carry some type of whip or scourge, especially a birch, which could be used for birching or in modern words, to chastise children who have been too naughty to deserve presents. The character is believed to have been derived from pagan traditions of evil spirits. Also told for decades is a story that the Zwarte Pieten are black because of chimney soot and/or in mockery of the darker Spanish occupiers of the Low Countries in centuries past."

And this has nothing to do with Christmas, but easily, this is an example of creepy to end all creepy...
The Child-Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
http://www.chewingpixels.com/wp-cont...d_catcher_.jpg
http://cfs4.tistory.com/upload_contr...AwMDIxNy5qcGc=

Agreed that is creepy!

I started a trend!
 

I'd say yes, stand there and smile. I usually go caroling with my old neighborhood every year. Maybe grab a coat and close the door a little so the heat doesn't go out.