Christmas music as damnation
• Cheap Laughs
A sad tale of what this season is like for those who don't own their own business:
An Austrian trade union has claimed the repetitive playing of Christmas carols in department stores is "psycho-terrorism" for salespeople.
From morning to night, week after week, the same Christmas music was played in department stores over and over again, Gottfried Rieser, of the Union of Private Employees, said.
"Many staff in the retail sector suffer psychologically from it. They get aggressions and aversions against Christmas music. On Christmas Eve, with their families, they can't stand Silent Night or Jingle Bells any more," he said.
His union had already tried without success to take legal steps. It is now appealing to department store owners to use "moderation" and to play Christmas music for only a few hours each day.