Yeah, I'll label myself here...
Greetings Faithful Readers…and all you faithless ones too, I guess…
It’s that time of year again: Holiday Season. It’s the time of year when everyone spends countless hours perusing stores and shops trying to find that perfect gift for those family members that they never see, and probably don’t care about that much anyway. Yes…you can probably tell my general feeling about the holiday season by that single statement: I pretty much loathe the time from Thanksgiving through New Years and cherish the time when I can look at the calendar and see January 2 upon it. Yeah…I’m a scrooge. Lets look at why, shall we?
My understanding of the history of the holiday season is that it used to be a good thing, and even I used to think it was good. A looong time ago, probably around the year 1982, I looked forward the holiday season just like every other red blooded American. Lets face it…tons of food on Thanksgiving, presents and more food on Christmas and then you get to stay up late for New Years…what’s not to like?! We, as Americans, probably eat more food in this one month span than whole countries eat in a year…and that’s pretty sad, you know? Don’t think that I’m trying to be Sally Struthers and say “we should think of the starving African children” here…I’m not. I’m just trying to say that this is one thing that bothers me about this time of year…the gluttony.
Another MAJOR issue for me during this season is the unabashed commercialization of it. I’m not kidding at all when I say I went to Wal-Mart in September and saw Christmas decorations up for sale already. SEPTEMBER!!! In a couple years, you’ll be able to buy the “deeply” discounted Christmas decorations from the preceding year at the same time that you can buy the new decorations for this year (this will probably occur around May of 2010…you watch). But, remember if you buy “last years” decorations, you are opening yourself up to ridicule and finger pointing from all your snobby neighbors and family members (“I remember we had THAT decoration LAST year…don’t you?”). Oh yeah…it’ll happen.
What happened? What happened to the days where Thanksgiving was TRULY about giving thanks for the things that you appreciate (family, friends, health, a huge freakin’ turkey on the table…)? What happened to the days where Christmas was remembering a little baby in a manger and the birth of a new era? What happened to the days where family and friends REALLY mattered?
I don’t know…I really don’t. Personally, I blame it all on Al Gore (if he hadn’t invented the internet and, single-handedly caused global warming, it might have snowed here yesterday). Why can’t this season be about giving back…not just to those people that you associate with and call “friend” or family members that try as you might, will never NOT be in your family…but to everyone? Why not do something for someone else…for a total stranger…someone who will never know what you’ve done for them. Isn’t THAT what this season is supposed to be about?
posted by LaTech at 6:18 AM
2 Comments:
I don't loath the holiday season, but I do tend to be cynical about it. We do eat too much and focus too much on how much we spend on people. Even though I have small children that enjoy the gifts, I think we would be much better off if we would reduce the amount of money spent and spend more time with each other.
It really is about giving and I think we find the most happiness when we share time with others. If you think about how often you really visit with others (for example, spend more than an hour over coffee in meaningful conversation), I think we would be surprised how little it is. That's a big part of the joy of the season. After all, that's the reason for the season. God gave his son so that we could have a relationship with him.
I hear what you are saying.
Actually according to historical accounts, Jesus' birthday was not anywhere Dec. 25 and actual estimates of when he was born vary wildly... The general origins of Christmas (Dec. 25) come from mostly pegan holidays (Anglo Saxon Yule festival, Roman festival of Sun God, etc...). Regardless, the early church (first 300 years or so) did not recognize Christmas (or even the birth of Jesus), instead choosing to focus mostly on his death and resurrection. (http://www.mrrena.com/2001/Christmas.shtml)
Today the holiday is a common part of the christian faith (and others), and although there are some pegan origins of the holiday and many secular influences, the general spirit of the season is "supposed to be" christian/religious. I find that the holiday is what you make of it (in your heart), and although it is very commercialized, any time we spend thinking of others instead of ourselves is a welcome change in my opinion. True there is some gluttony during the christmas season, the same is true of most festivals/holidays. Also the amount of excess that we enjoy during that period is nothing compared to the many blessings and overabundances that we enjoy every day compared to others in the world (or in our own neighborhoods). While I do agree that the excess of commercialism and focus on gifts and money during this time of year detracts from the original spirit of the season, I think the overall outcome is generally positive, and I hope that we carry that spirit of thinking of others beyond the holiday season into our everyday lives. It is good that we come together with our families during that time of year, and hopefully we will carry that spirit of remebering others beyond our immediate families.
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