Everybody's looking for something...

Is it only my perception of things, or does religion it its various forms become more prominent at this time of the year? Waiting for my tram yesterday I noticed a sign outside the local Anglican Church which stated: We preach Christ crucified and resurrected and when I stepped off the tram at Camberwell shopping centre the Salvation Army band was playing Christmas carols and Hare Krishna folk were handing out copies of the Bhagavad Gita with one hand and looking for a donation with the other. Later, over coffee I became involved in a conversation with two extremely articulate young women who told me they were volunteers at the Church of Scientology. They were not sprouting religion, only personal development, however did mention that they believed a spirit inhabited their body (is this why Scientology has been recognized as a religion?). Of course, they were careful not to mention that many Scientologists believe that spirits of space aliens become stuck to human bodies, but I figure that is because they were young and probably haven't yet reached that level in Scientology where they believe such nonsense. I did however mention to them that back in 1997 I was fascinated that the Heaven's Gate cult believed that aliens had planted the seeds of our humanity millions of years ago and would return with the arrival of the Hale-Bopp comet. More total nonsense! Believe me, I felt much better when I entered the market and was offered sweets by a man in a Santa costume. But I wondered as I put my hand in his little red bag to choose a chocolate or a toffee, whether he too  ~ all red and white & bright, was yet another seduction to lead me into making a purchase.