Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Charlie Brown and Christmas
Its Connor, in class some of people talked about disconnection and disillusionment from the holiday season. Someone mentioned that for them Christmas was nice, but it only really lasts 5 minutes on Christmas morning when they tear the wrapping paper off. I started watching a Charlie Brown Christmas tonight and it got me thinking about the increasing commercialization of the entire holiday season. It is regrettable if the holiday is over for you as soon as the presents have been opened. For me personally, the holiday lasts through the entire break and includes traveling up and down the East coast visiting relatives. Spending the time to take a break with friends and family is part of what makes it great. Spending time together with giving gifts as the backdrop is a wonderful thing. However, it is becoming less about giving and more about getting. I worked hard this year to get everyone in my family a present that they did no necessarily need nor expect. Less predictability during the holiday season makes it more fun. Focus on receiving gifts caused by increased commercialization seems to be detracting from the true value of the holiday season. For many its becoming less about family and time together, and more about that package weakly hidden in the back of the closet.
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I heard something similar to what you are saying on the radio (since I've been listening to B101 since Thanksgiving). The host was asking people about Christmas means. Some said superficial things like presents, time off work, some said being with family, the gift of giving, and no one said the real reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Which is the religious one: to honor the birth of The Savior Jesus Christ. How corrupt has the world become that hardly anyone remembers what Christmas is really about? Honestly people, its in the word: Christ-mas.
Commercial control as over taken this holiday and personally I find it sad. With the economy the way it is, I suppose it is good that people are going and spending tons of money, because it stimulates the circulation of money. (sorry if I paraphrased that wrong, the economy isn't really my forte). I wish people could enjoy Christmas by giving gifts, singing carols, and making candycane reindeer without losing the real meaning of Christmas. Is that so much to ask?
Hi, it's Jenn
I agree with Connor that commercialism is corrupting the original purpose of the holiday season. Especially with the downturn of the economy, more and more advertisements are flying around and the TV commercials are desperately crying for buyers to open their pockets.The amount of donation to local charity events or even the Salvation Army is dropping as a result of the economic recession.
This intense fight for survival(although slightly exaggerated) seems to involve almost everyone, and some people's hopes of American Dream are becoming bleak.
(Jennifer Park)
Hey, it's Emily T. I've actually thought a good bit about commercialism, etc., in relation to Christmas. I think it's kind of funny how the whole meaning behind Christmas has been skewed over the years...
I completely agree with the first comment posted. And whether you trust Christ as your Savior or not, it's hard (but it's becoming easier with commercialism) to ignore the fact that, if Jesus weren't born, we really wouldn't have a reason to celebrate Christmas.
I think it's really interesting to take a look at the reason Christ came to earth in the first place. If you look at Jesus' life as a whole, his ultimate purpose was be born humbly, live a humble life, and die to give hope to the human race. That's a gift that means much more than any gift you could buy at Target.
Take a look at the wisemen, too. They brought gifts to the Christ child, but when they met Herod in their quest for the child King, they didn't say they were looking for the Child in order to have a gift exchange, rather, the gifts were symbols of the worship they felt in their hearts. They told Herod they wanted to find the King so that they could worship him.
Commercialism in comparison to the above points seems kind of empty. We shop for weeks in anticipation for five minutes. Once those five minutes are over, what then? Did we just waste all that time shopping for useless and unfulfilling gifts? Compare this to the gift God gave to us on Christmas: true love. He was willing to show us how much he loves us not by buying us all little hearts that say "I love you" or handing us a package that we soon lose interest in, rather, he was willing to give us what mattered most to him (his son), and not just that, but he was willing to give his son's life in exchange for ours. Looking at the gifts from the wisemen, their real gift to Christ was their worship, not the presents.
If our gifts at Christmas were focused more on expressing how much we care about the person we are giving the gift to, as opposed to superficial/materialistic things, wouldn't we get so much more out of Christmas? We get and give so much at Christmas that we don't really need. Wouldn't it be more fulfilling to come out of Christmas break with better familial relationships as opposed to just stuff?
I know we can't get rid of commercialism, but we can limit how much it negatively affects our lives and relationships.
I, too, agree that commercialism has indeed had somewhat of a negative effect on society's thoughts regarding the meaning of Christmas. I certainly agree with Emily that this commercialism has contributed to a decrease in emphasis on familial ideals during the holidays.
Personally, I have always believed that Christmas should be about both "giving" and "receiving," yet as Connor mentioned, in today's era the "giving" component is increasingly being ignored, especially among groups of adolescents such as ourselves. I am not saying that there is no one who has the heart to wish to "give;" I am simply stating that I have observed that, among many families, the thought of self-less "giving" has lost its place to the sole (often selfish) thought of "receiving."
I am suddenly reminded of the short story, "The Gift of the Magi," despite the fact that it is a fictional work. This story emphasizes the true "gift of giving," and directly relates to Emily's comment about God's gift of "true love."
(Janet Lee)
I must concur that this increasing commercialism is dangerous to us. When speaking of it abstractly, we all seem to be "morally correct", yet in practice, we're often found guilty and red-handed. As much as we want to deny it, we love receiving. We could also love giving, but that does not change the fact that materialism is part of our nature..especially in a society like ours.
Much of this phenomenon could possibly be accredited to the War on Christmas. With such diverse communities, we often tend to avoid offending those around us. Thus, we stick to the secular, more commercial side of Christmas rather than the religious one. The religious side of the discussion remains within the confines of closed doors with those who share views similar to our own. I would hesitate to speak to a classmate about Jesus, but never to a family member.
And if our holiday spirit has become dependent on a package in the back of the closet, then shame on us.
(Sam Maliha)
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