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Remember when Christmas meant more than boxes, bows and empty wallets? It looks like those days are long gone.
I recently had the misfortune of working in the mall on Black Friday, and as I looked around at the crazed shoppers and relentless sales gimmicks, I became convinced that modern consumerism is killing the holiday spirit. Every year it’s the same thing: People hit the streets en masse, credit cards in hand, desperately trying to one-up their fellow shoppers by beating them to that last Tickle-Me Elmo or the latest video game console. There’s nothing sadder than watching parents brawling in the checkout lines at Wal-Mart on the evening news at Christmastime. So much for good will toward men.
Random acts of retail violence aren’t the only negative side effect of the holiday rush. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, an additional 1 million tons of garbage per week is dumped in landfills across the nation. All that fancy wrapping paper, cellophane, bows, baubles and boxes make for one big environmental mess. If you still feel the need to buy 20 different kinds of wrapping paper and have a different color-coordinated ribbon and bow for each gift, at least recycle them from year to year. Or better yet, find creative ways to make your own giftwrap, like using old comics from the newspaper. Your loved ones will appreciate the extra thought you put into it.
Another insufferable development in the consumer world is the fact that Christmas seems to come around earlier and earlier every year. Store advertisers have figured out that they can trick people into thinking that the big day is rapidly approaching – hence the need to spend, spend, spend – by decking out their shelves and stereos with Christmas cheer months in advance. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to listen to “Holly Jolly Christmas” for the 10th time while I’m picking up my Halloween candy. By the time December rolls around, everyone is so exhausted by the barrage of premature festivities that it takes all the fun out of the actual holiday. And how are you going to enjoy it anyway if you are stressed out trying to figure out some way to find that perfect gift for all 48 people on your Christmas list without putting yourself in the poorhouse?
If the holidays were not so blatantly commercialized, people wouldn’t have to worry about satisfying this desire for material possessions. The fact is, the consumer culture has trained Americans to expect a pile of elaborately packaged gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Even some of our holiday traditions are actually marketing schemes in disguise. For example, did you know that Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer was actually created by a department store? That’s right: the story, the song, even the feature film, all brought to you courtesy of the marketing geniuses at Montgomery Ward. It’s the same story for many of our other favorite Christmas characters.
The real problem here is that people everywhere are forgetting the real meaning of Christmas. It isn’t about Rudolph or the tree or all the presents in the world. Christmas is a time to celebrate peace and love toward one another. This holiday season, stop thinking about all the things you can get and spend some time focusing on what you can give. The greatest gifts don’t come in boxes with fancy bows. So if you really want to make someone feel special, visit a children’s hospital or a nursing home, volunteer at a soup kitchen, call an old friend to wish them a happy holiday, or sit down and share a meal and some stories with your loved ones. That’s what Christmas is all about.
Polaris Garfield is just angry because she couldn’t get a Turbo Man doll.
