The "Commercialization" of Christmas, etc.

[Sam Gamgee]

I've heard a lot of talk about this in my life: how Christmas is all about money, etc. These days Walmart (et al) puts the Christmas stuff out around Halloween. Now it's "the holiday season" which runs from Halloween to New Year's -- all just a chance for these companies to cash in, especially during Christmas. I get it.

I have a book of letters by C.S. Lewis that I enjoy reading while on the bowl. I recently ran across him talking about this: how "Xmas" has spoiled Christmas, and how it was all about selling things, etc. (He wrote this 75 years ago or so.) He was always decrying the times and was usually spot-on. I'm not saying he was wrong, but using some of what he himself has taught me (i.e., how to use my head), I took it all a step further and began seeing it all in a different light.

Yes, for big corporations like Amazon, WM, et al, it's all about money. But that's business and the point of business is to make money. Is it overdone, overblown, and do people spend money on stuff they don't need with money they don't have, and do these big corps. profit from it? Sure.

But.

I started wondering: what other time of the rolling year do people spend their hard-earned money on others freely? When do people get more generous than they normally are? What time of the year do people give more away than they get, and seem to actually enjoy doing it? What time of year do people tend to reach out to others and bury the hatchet, forgive, and attempt to reconcile?

Christmas.

I spoiled a lot of Christmases when I had Lewis's view. I'd get together with family and think how we are all spending money on presents none of us need and lining the pockets of these big companies. But then I started thinking: How bad is this, really? We are all in the same room (something that only happens at Christmas). We are all trying to be thoughtful of each other, make each other smile, and maybe show that we care about each other. I got my Christmas spirit back after that.

Not trying to be didactic but just putting out there what happened to me.

Merry Christmas!

 

[huntertrw]

If we remember, ponder, and wonder about just Whose birth it is that we celebrate at this time of year, and forget all of the tinsel trappings that the world and commerce attempt to hang on the event, then I believe that we will be the better for it, like Dickens' reborn Mr. Scrooge. "...it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!"

 

[El Capitán]

“I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?” - A Christmas Carol

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Absolutely fine by me if this thread turns into a Christmas Carol party. Here is one of my favorite scenes from one of the best movies that's ever been made IMO.

 

[sablebrush52]

Modern Christmas IS highly commercialized. There's no serious disputing that. And for many a small business, a highly remunerative Holiday season can be of critical importance.

But why the pressure to buy stuff and go into extremes of debt? Why not give some personal time and make a gift? My ex would spend weeks prepping and making cookies of all description (she's a professionally trained baker) and send out boxes of them to friends and family. Those cookies were highly appreciated, as much or more than any store bought item.

And what does it suggest, that we need a Holiday to remember to be kind, or just plain decent, to one another. Does that even work? Has it ever worked?

It's more like Tom Lehrer wrote in his "a Christmas Carol"

On Christmas Day you can't get sore,
Your fellow man you must adore,
There's time to cheat him all the more,
The other three hundred and sixty-four.

I don't give Christmas presents, rarely birthday presents, any of that. I do give gifts and preform service all year round because that's natural for me. I take care of people who matter to me because that's what I do, not because some outside influence tells me I need to do that.

What I love about the Holiday season are the colors, the lights, the carols, the scents and spices. And when it comes to family get togethers, in our family that's Thanksgiving.

All that "Buy! Buy! Buy!" stuff is irrelevant, devoid of any spiritual nutrition whatsoever.

 

[El Capitán]

Absolutely fine by me if this thread turns into a Christmas Carol party. Here is one of my favorite scenes from one of the best movies that's ever been made IMO.

Disney's A Christmas Carol is a very nice adaptation as well.

 

[K.E. Powell]

Holidays are mostly parties anchored in tradition, and like all traditions, their shapes heavily conform within the confines of the dominant culture. In the United States, commercialism is the culture, so it should not be a surprise that Christmas, at least as it is practiced in America, would essentially be a commercial endeavor. Some people understand this, and either accept it or celebrate in a way more in line with their own beliefs. Others do not, and the holiday in question becomes for them another flashpoint in some dumb argument about the so-called culture wars.

For C.S. Lewis, Christmas became a cultural casualty to British capitalism. I can sympathize with this a great deal, and his essay on the matter carries his trademark whimsy and wit. Even so, I think Lewis doesn't fully appreciate Christianity's own role in its holiday's bastardization. Christianity is a proselytizing religion, and as such, it is necessary for it to "spread the good news" to all peoples, no matter how foreign their cultures, languages, or national histories. How could any tradition remain simple and static and meet such a demand? It simply isn't possible. In some eras and some places, the celebration of Christmas was compulsory, and in others deemed a species of popery and outright prohibited. Given that fractious history, one where Christians cannot even agree on the meaning and importance of the holiday (or if it should even be celebrated), it then seems a bit myopic to think the problem with Christmas is that people feel overly compelled to buy Hallmark cards.

Christmas itself, of course, predates the formation of the United States by several centuries, and it is to that older expression that Lewis appeals. But even in that sense, we see a tradition that is remarkably protean and able to change and adapt to suit the needs and whims of whichever culture it finds itself in. 20th century Britain and 21st century America are no exceptions. If one finds the crass commercialism of Christmas to be dreary and gauche, then the heart of their grievance is to be found in the culture at large.

I'll add this last point briefly, since I already managed to type up a novella here: if what one wishes for in Christmas is the celebration of a savior and time spent with family and friends, well, there is nothing stopping one from pursuing that. If we choose to celebrate, as it were, by expressing our affection in gift-giving to family and friends we only see once yearly, then that is our choice. We cannot blame either Charlemagne or Jeff Bezos for that.

 

[kcghost]

I always enjoyed the Christmas season when I had the children at home. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to ask for detailed Xmas list so I could get them precisely what they wanted within my budget. This was in 70's and 80's. With the grandkids I quickly tired of them. I was just guys that showed 3-4 times a year bearing gifts for them. A lot of people love grandkids when they are around them all the time, but I wasn't so I didn't.

 

[warren]

I learned, from my wife, to celebrate Christmas on our terms. Sally loved all things Christmas, picking the perfect gift, three trees, two fake, in the house, big family brunch. Now, at my age, I still do enjoy the season and pay little to no attention as to how others do. I did Christmas present exchange with the grandson yesterday because today I expected to be snowed in for a few days. I am.

While I don't understand the "presents competition" so many allow themselves to become a part of. I do understand need business owners feel to survive for another year. Be it Amazon or the mom and pop on Main Street. I just choose not to get embroiled in such to the point where I loose track of the "why" of Christmas and Hanukkah. It's personal choice we all can make. The right choice means a lower stress levels.

 

[georged]

 

[Hillcrest]

I agree with all of the above noble sentiments. I also live in hope of a SP 50% off clearance sale on Savinelli and Peterson Christmas pipes and Christmas tobaccos !!

P.S. Christmas is a season that runs from Christmas day until the day after Epiphany (this year on January 8). There is still time for noble charity ...

 

[warren]

Russia and a few other orthodox countries didn't adjust Christmas when the changed to the "modern" calendar. So, Christmas is in January. It's a wonderfully varied, world we live in. Even with its, sometimes profound and, too often, fatal differences.

 

[Waning Embers]

Christmas was appropriated from pagan traditions, to bring money into the church and raise attendance in winter. Charles Dickens and Macy's practically invented Christmas as we know it today. It's always been about money.

 

[pappymac]

While some people don’t think it’s correct to call Christmas “Xmas” because it somehow takes Christ or religion out of the holiday, they would be incorrect.

Xmas is not a modern invention nor is it an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. The early church used the first two letters of Christos in the Greek alphabet – “chi” and “rho” to create a monogram represented the name of Jesus. This basically looks like an X with on top of a small p. Eventually the small “p” stopped being used and just the “X” continued.

 

[warren]

The human frailty of fretting over things we have absolutely no control over? A waste of time and emotion, neither of which any one of us has enough of. But, very human I suppose.

Christmas was appropriated from pagan traditions, to bring money into the church and raise attendance in winter.

The Catholic Church always recognized that, in order to convert the "heathens" they would need to make some accommodation for traditional beliefs. No where was this more obvious than Ireland. A land which was allowed a distinctive form of Catholicism for centuries. Money was important of course but, political power was a serious consideration. Numbers and acreage counted! Gotta love those Crusades! Mass in local languages, guitar riffs, bingo, the Church is always morphing so to fill the pews and coffers.

All religions change over time. One of the reasons organized religion left me behind. But, I don't want to get this thread blocked. So ... 'nuff said. Maybe too much. My apologies if so.

 

[gamzultovah]

How bad is this, really? We are all in the same room (something that only happens at Christmas). We are all trying to be thoughtful of each other, make each other smile, and maybe show that we care about each other.

And funerals at which point, it’s too late. I like your point of view better.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

Faith and family and traditions - my parents and their parents and their parents made Christmas a special time and a time to get together when possible - it’s always been a special time at our house and has become so for our daughters. Just keep it in perspective and enjoy each other. My mom was always one for inviting a neighbor who was alone and no family for Christmas dinner at a couple of different places we lived - wish she still could.

 

[bullet08]

It's all in your head folks. You decide how you want to spend your Christmas. Or do you succumb to peer pressure of gift giving, and TV commercials and what not? Gifts never came into picture among my friends. My kids never cared about what they wanted for this season of joy. I think I'm the only want looking for the sales items that I might need. Great time to relax and enjoy the family gathering.

 

[Waning Embers]

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Exactly. How else to get families to spend loads of cash than to have a Santa at your store and have the kiddies endlessly pleading to go see him.

The human frailty of fretting over things we have absolutely no control over? A waste of time and emotion, neither of which any one of us has enough of. But, very human I suppose.

The Catholic Church always recognized that, in order to convert the "heathens" they would need to make some accommodation for traditional beliefs. No where was this more obvious than Ireland. A land which was allowed a distinctive form of Catholicism for centuries. Money was important of course but, political power was a serious consideration. Numbers and acreage counted! Gotta love those Crusades! Mass in local languages, guitar riffs, bingo, the Church is always morphing so to fill the pews and coffers.

All religions change over time. One of the reasons organized religion left me behind. But, I don't want to get this thread blocked. So ... 'nuff said. Maybe too much. My apologies if so.

I just find it funny when ideologies become skewed when power and money are concerned.

 

[warren]

Thanksgiving and Christmas my father used to stop by the local Armed Services YMCA. He'd spot a couple of GI's looking glum and bring them home for a feast and, possibly a bit of family cheer. A tradition I've lost as, when I was a single cop, I always traded shifts with an officer with family on those two holidays.