greed and commercialism
Last night I watched "Christmas with the Kranks". I've read the book and seen the movie before, but it was funny to see it again. I applauded their decision to skip Christmas, but at the end of the movie when there's a mad scramble to 'put on Christmas', it really bothered me. My alternate ending would have been apologizing to their neighbors, inviting everyone in for coffee, serve whatever food they had in their fridge, and feel content that they hadn't given in to the pressures and commercialism of a traditional North American Christmas.
When I hear about people getting shot in a toy store, being trampled to death in Walmart, and other horrid stories of greed it makes me want to ditch the whole idea of gift giving. Money for gifts, stocking stuffers, charities, extra groceries, baking ingredients, postage for cards and parcels, is it all really worth it? Why is it so easy to get sucked into it all? Christmas is literally to celebrate the birth of Christ, it's also a time for family to get together. Why is the focus on 'getting', shopping, eating, and overspending?
There are a lot of things I love about Christmas, and I suppose they all cost money one way or another; Christmas lights, shiny wrapping paper, christmas music on the radio, turkey and cranberries. Someday, I will be able to fight off the commercialism beast and have the kind of simple, blessed Christmas I've always wanted. I suspect it may involve leaving home for a remote cabin.
When I hear about people getting shot in a toy store, being trampled to death in Walmart, and other horrid stories of greed it makes me want to ditch the whole idea of gift giving. Money for gifts, stocking stuffers, charities, extra groceries, baking ingredients, postage for cards and parcels, is it all really worth it? Why is it so easy to get sucked into it all? Christmas is literally to celebrate the birth of Christ, it's also a time for family to get together. Why is the focus on 'getting', shopping, eating, and overspending?
There are a lot of things I love about Christmas, and I suppose they all cost money one way or another; Christmas lights, shiny wrapping paper, christmas music on the radio, turkey and cranberries. Someday, I will be able to fight off the commercialism beast and have the kind of simple, blessed Christmas I've always wanted. I suspect it may involve leaving home for a remote cabin.