Busiest Saturday

Yesterday was no doubt the busiest shopping day of the year here. Like back home when it comes to preparing for Hari Raya, yesterday was the last Saturday before the Dutch celebrate a very Dutch tradition - Sinterklaas. This is time of year when they buy presents, quite different to the normal Christmas celebration. In deed we thought our Hari Raya preparations are over the top and for some buying beyond their means, here it is quite similar. The main difference is that most of the buys are for presents. The rests are mainly towards decorations - which can be quite outlandish as well. We don't know whether here the sale has gone down compare to previous years becasue of the current recession. In UK and the States, the sales have definitely gone down and amazing bargains are on offer to kick-start people to start shopping again. Our son asked if back home is also affected by the current global recession. I didn't answer. Life is probably like normal back home, people are more likely oblivious of the real situation.