I’m Not Happy with the Christmas Season
Christmas is a holiday that has different meanings for different people. For some, it is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and attend church services. For others, it is a time to spend with family and friends, exchange gifts, and enjoy festive meals. For many, it is a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new year with hope and optimism.
I am not a Scrooge, no not really, but I really don’t like the Christmas season. I really don’t like the commercialization of the season and all the hassle that the season involves. Although Bethlehem was abuzz with an influx of visitors who were in the city to register for the census ordered by Caesar Augustus, the manager was a lonely place on that night. Quite a contrast to the hustle bustle of today’s Christmas.
The rise of the middle class during the last half of the 19th century, the Gilded Age, and the increase in disposable income led to a surge in consumer spending. This, in turn, led to the growth of the retail industry, and Santa Claus. In my opinion, Christmas can be a time to celebrate love, kindness, and generosity. It can be a time to show appreciation for the people in our lives and to give back to those in need. It can be a time to spread joy and cheer and to make lasting memories with loved ones. Whether it’s through gift-giving, volunteering, or simply spending quality time with family and friends.
Christmas should be a time to come together and celebrate the spirit of the season. But is it? Too many of us have exchanged the solemnity of the manager for the frenetic activities of seasonal celebration. The commercialization of Christmas has a long history. According to an article by Tim Harford, the commercialization of Christmas began in the early to mid-19th century with the retail revolution. Advertisements for Christmas presents appeared in the US in the 1820s, and Santa Claus himself was wholeheartedly endorsing products by the 1840s. The commercialism of the Coca-Cola Santa and the Montgomery Ward Rudolph built on this retail revolution. The focus was money.
As Christmas became a family affair, traditional exchanging homemade gifts of food and drink made less sense: people began exchanging shop-bought presents instead. Retailers have been using Christmas to prod us to spend money for a long time. Gratification is achieved through buying presents, traveling to be with family, and overconsumption, all stimulating the economy.
In conclusion, the commercialization of Christmas is driven by the desire to stimulate the economy and the changing nature of the holiday itself. This year I want to celebrate Christmas by celebrating Christ in the displaced people in nations at war, in the people marginalized by society, in the poor who have health-care and food deficits. I want to celebrate Christ who came for the entirety of creation, or He didn’t come at all.
CubieSphere 