This is so not PC.
Christmas
I love symbols, I love covetting and collecting them. I stack them on shelves, where they collect dust and their power grows the longer I stare at them. What fascinates me more is the symbols that aren't stationary and that span a nation. It is a rare symbol that still has power lying outside religion and government; it is the collective spirituality of a nation. Everyone whether Christian or a practitioner of Christmas knows what the Christmas spirit is. The idea of generosity permeating social class and the hierarchy. This is why I am such a sap for Christmas Carols and old Christmas stories and those terrible Christmas movies. It gives me hope that there are still stories with substance that encourage that sort of behavior in this nation.
It promotes, at its best, and idea of selfless-ness. My favorite part of Christmas is watching my family open their gifts and being so happy. It’s the same principle of showing someone something funny so you can see them laugh. I do that with my Dad all the time, which is why I enjoy watching TV with him. I like showing him funny things, just so he’ll laugh and I know he’s happy. Then again, this is because I feel like there is very little that I can do to make him happy sometimes. I suppose this can easily be drawn back to the idea of self-gratification of making yourself feel better by making others feel better, but you know what? I don’t care. I like seeing others happy, whether I get anything out of it or not. Christmas means a lot too me, because I like to hope this incredibly important symbols still has power over people. I like to think that Christmas is the one symbols who has never hurt anyone. Unlike the other prominent symbols of the US like the Confederate Flag and the crucifix.
Which is why it greatly disgusts me to see the overcommercialization of this particular holiday. I can understand why the stores would want to capitalize on the season but when they actually define the season is when it has gone too far. They have turned the season into material gain and persuade the masses that the price is what tells someone how much you mean to them. I do like to buy nice things for my loved ones, but what makes them nice is how personal they are. The book I am giving my father is not expensive, but it proves I remember something personal about him, same with my brother.
I’d rather someone give me something cheap and deeply meaningful than something gaudy and expensive. I’d ever prefer something I actually needed, like a coffee maker, to something unnecessary. Hell, I’d even think a Sprite bottle and a pocket knife was an awesome present, or a box of Jello and a poncho. People can talk all the trash they want about Christmas and what it means, and I’ll take it in stride because I know for the most part they mean the capitalism, but this doesn’t mean you need to ignore everything about it. So please, don’t take the charity this stands for lightly.
I love symbols, I love covetting and collecting them. I stack them on shelves, where they collect dust and their power grows the longer I stare at them. What fascinates me more is the symbols that aren't stationary and that span a nation. It is a rare symbol that still has power lying outside religion and government; it is the collective spirituality of a nation. Everyone whether Christian or a practitioner of Christmas knows what the Christmas spirit is. The idea of generosity permeating social class and the hierarchy. This is why I am such a sap for Christmas Carols and old Christmas stories and those terrible Christmas movies. It gives me hope that there are still stories with substance that encourage that sort of behavior in this nation.
It promotes, at its best, and idea of selfless-ness. My favorite part of Christmas is watching my family open their gifts and being so happy. It’s the same principle of showing someone something funny so you can see them laugh. I do that with my Dad all the time, which is why I enjoy watching TV with him. I like showing him funny things, just so he’ll laugh and I know he’s happy. Then again, this is because I feel like there is very little that I can do to make him happy sometimes. I suppose this can easily be drawn back to the idea of self-gratification of making yourself feel better by making others feel better, but you know what? I don’t care. I like seeing others happy, whether I get anything out of it or not. Christmas means a lot too me, because I like to hope this incredibly important symbols still has power over people. I like to think that Christmas is the one symbols who has never hurt anyone. Unlike the other prominent symbols of the US like the Confederate Flag and the crucifix.
Which is why it greatly disgusts me to see the overcommercialization of this particular holiday. I can understand why the stores would want to capitalize on the season but when they actually define the season is when it has gone too far. They have turned the season into material gain and persuade the masses that the price is what tells someone how much you mean to them. I do like to buy nice things for my loved ones, but what makes them nice is how personal they are. The book I am giving my father is not expensive, but it proves I remember something personal about him, same with my brother.
I’d rather someone give me something cheap and deeply meaningful than something gaudy and expensive. I’d ever prefer something I actually needed, like a coffee maker, to something unnecessary. Hell, I’d even think a Sprite bottle and a pocket knife was an awesome present, or a box of Jello and a poncho. People can talk all the trash they want about Christmas and what it means, and I’ll take it in stride because I know for the most part they mean the capitalism, but this doesn’t mean you need to ignore everything about it. So please, don’t take the charity this stands for lightly.