Christmas Gone Commercial

Look around. You may have noticed that things are a little brighter, people are a little more friendly when you lay down your cash, and the stores are a little more crowded. You may have also noticed the myriad of lights, tinsel, evergreens, and Santa stuff decorating every inch of every building, tree, bush, car, wall, bench, window, etc... Ah yes, it is Christmas time. The advent of good cheer and holiday spirit have hit us like a ton of bricks and all we can do to retaliate is spend countless dollars to keep the feeling alive. How can one be so cynical at such a joyous time? you may ask. Well, take a look around. Christmas, like countless other ritual holidays, has become a mass rush to the stores instead of a time of thanks, loving, and good old fashioned kindness.

Let me cite an example to illustrate why I have a grinch sized chip on my shoulder. I was browsing in the Lego section of FAO over the Thanksgiving break, when I personally observed the encroaching power commercialism has on the Christmas holiday. A little girl, no taller than my knee caps, was yanking on her mothers shirt and whining that she needed another Barbie. When her mother said no, this cute, tiny girl quickly turned into the devil's child. After a good five minutes of screaming, kicking, and other attention grabbing moves, the mother of this little snot soothed the pain of denial with, "I bet Santa will bring you a Barbie this year." Immediately the child stopped crying and proceeded to bop around the store for the remainder of her stay there.

Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? Is that all that Christmas has come to these days? Apparently money has won over kindness and good cheer. This holiday has been reduced to cash and credit cards and spur of the moment promises of material goods. Don't get me wrong, I like getting a little something under the tree as much as the next person, but the holiday season should be more than gift wrapping and stocking stuffing. Christmas is not a time to buy your way out of all the promises and duties you failed to accomplish over the course of the year. It is a time for reflection, forgiveness, and unrequited kindness. The holiday season is a time when we can put our differences behind us and realize that we are not as different from others as we think.

I know it may sound unreal and to T.V. land-like to have this point of view, but it is the only way to fight the commercial society that has killed the spirit of Christmas. Materialism rules our world, and the only way to fight it is to stop and think about why we spend so much time, effort, and money for one day of the year.