Too Much Caroling Spoils Christmas, German Choirs Say

BONN — An organization of Roman Catholic Church choirs in West Germany objected Wednesday to the way shoppers are saturated with carols in department stores during the Christmas season--claiming that too many carols produce Scrooges.

“It is intolerable to expose customers and salespeople to several weeks of uninterrupted carols to produce a spurious Christmas mood,” Udo Hildenbrand, chairman of the Caecilien Organization of German choirs, said in a statement. “The result is that people are so fed up, they do not want to hear Christmas mentioned again,” he said.

Cookie and candy manufacturers also have been criticized for using religious Christmas themes.

The Haribo Co., maker of Gummi Bears, a gelatinous candy, received protests about a manger scene showing Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The theme was so popular the manger candy sold out soon after it appeared in shops, Haribo spokeswoman Patricia Mandt said.

“Most of the protests came from Catholic regions of Germany,” she said. “One phone call came from the United States.”

But she said some defended the theme on the grounds that chewing manger candy is no worse than eating cookies and cake representing the baby Jesus.