Kishore Singh: Christmas mania in New York

If you think diversion of traffic in New Delhi is a problem because of VIP movements, spare a thought for New York where entire blocks get cordoned off for its frequent parades and, as it happened on Wednesday, live performances. My taxi from the airport to Central Park South had to be diverted because they were cordoning off 47th to 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the heart of Manhattan, in preparation for the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. By that evening, crowds had started appearing on the sidewalks armed with shopping bags, streaming through the traffic as they congregated at Rockefeller Plaza, thousands of people deep as, with an exclamation and a sigh, the magical lights were switched on.
 

But there are lights everywhere, in front of stores and embracing buildings, twinkling and sparkling in giant wreaths and stars, shaped into crossbows and tiaras, hooped around offices and glittering on leafless trees. With just three weeks to go before Christmas, the frenzy as shoppers queue up to pay for their purchases is exhausting. Nothing seems to make Americans happier than spending their money. As the stores stay open later than usual, they hire interns to help with the crush of shoppers.

Designers are booked up to a year in advance to dress up shop windows at Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys, where tourists crowd around clicking selfies. All shops on Park and Fifth Avenues are lit up, the Bronx and Brooklyn have their Italian-American nativity scenes, the smell of cinnamon rises from cafes, Christmas markets in Bryant Park and Union Square offer original if not quite practical gifts, and the spirit of Yuletide is in the air.

But it isn't without stress. Studies indicate that Christmas shopping triggers anxiety, migraine and hypertension in New Yorkers, with heart rates increasing on average by 10 per cent. Research has pointed out that Christmas shoppers turn aggressive in a primal response to the swarming crowds that activate their basic survival mechanisms. So, if you just shouted at a fellow customer, or snatched a bag from another's hands, don't blame yourself - it's just Darwin up to his tricks. Online shopping hasn't helped all that much because you ended up ordering more gifts than strictly necessary, then had panic attacks because the packages weren't delivered on time, or, worse, courier services flooded you with guilt-inducing "You were out" cards at your doorstep.

With longer shopping hours and having spent the end of their working days standing in queues to pay for their Christmas buys, most New Yorkers need a tot or two to sustain themselves, which seems a jolly thing to do till they discover their parcels got mixed up at the hat check desk, and no one can find the designer sweater you bought for your mother, or, worse, you can't remember where you put the check ticket. But if you think that's bad, ask the staff reporting to work on Boxing Day when just as many people turn up at the stores to return or exchange their gifts. Thankfully it hasn't snowed so far - it's been a warmer winter than most - but even as New Yorkers wait for a white Christmas, the lights and bonhomie are contributing their bit to the spirit of Noel. That it's a little bit more commercial, a tad less traditional, hardly matters when, having elbowed your way through the crowd, you stand before the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Now that's a bit of magic even Diwali can't match.