christmas...
if you have an advent calendar, today would be the first day that you would be able to pull of the tag to see what's behind or perhaps you have one with comes with a bit of candy or chocolate for each day till christmas. if you're incredibly lucky or rich or both, you can have an advent calendar from Harrods which costs 30,000 pounds and comes with organic hand-made chocolates. Apparently there are other versions, some of which which cost 50,000 pounds where your daily surprises would be things such as a Vertu Phone and a diamond ring. Makes you wonder what the person would get on Christmas Day itself.
No doubt about it, christmas is coming and newspapers are full of lists of gifts you could get and shops are full of bargains and don't forget this year's spin on the theme- the credit crunch christmas. how to get presents that don't break the bank. along with these articles you'll get the usual ones which talk about the true spirit of christmas and how we shouldn't forget that christmas is more than just a day you get a gift, drink mulled wine and eat turkey till you burst. So I shouldn't be too surprised at a Catholic Cleric talking about culture has become materialistic. But one thing he did say in the article struck me. Referring to Disney Films, he says:
"Where once morality and meaning were available as part of our free cultural inheritance, now corporations sell them to us as products."
I made a conscious decision for the 1st christmas of my eldest nephew that they will only ever get books from me for christmas. I figured that if they are going to get something, they might as well get something that will impart some kind of knowledge or skill. But gaining knowledge and gaining the idea of morality and meaning are two different things and isn't it true that by buying these gifts that are supposedly good for them we are also buying the idea that morality/ knowledge are products too?
Go watch or read, (and here you can) substitute any current film and you'll learn about being nice to strangers, being friends with everyone, taking care of the weak, taking care of our planet etc. The list is endless and it worries me. Because I have a fear that it is true. I have bought toys for my nephews, nieces, kids, cousins justifying the purchase that ultimately these gifts will teach them something. It's hard not to, either you buy them a toy that is just that a toy or you buy them a toy that hopefully will impart some kind of knowledge or skill thus making the idea of a toy a lot more palatable. (Even then, has anyone seen a toy that doesn't promise to do something besides just being something to play with?)
The point is- i have to buy something so i might as well try and buy something that will hopefully do some good. But will what I buy them actually teach them anything about being good?
So now, I'm trying to think back to my childhood. To all the presents that I received during Christmas and there are only 2 that i remember. The first was a red Snoopy Book Bag. The other a child size snooker table which converted into a table tennis table with a board that allowed you to play chess, checkers and snakes and ladders. That was a shared gift between my siblings and i and perhaps I remember it most clearly because I remember 1 weekend where my parents sat around with us playing the different games.
I know we live in a consumerist culture. Buy something and you'll be happy. Have that and your world will make sense. My fear is that by buying something for my nephews, I'm also creating this idea in them. Have a gift on christmas and you'll be happy.
All children deserve a gift at Christmas, and maybe it's not that complicated. Maybe it's just a day where kids get a gift and that's it. But it makes me wonder then- it's one thing about not forgetting the true meaning of Christmas but how do you stop Christmas being turned into a consumerist fantasy? can i still remember the true spirit of christmas and also feel excited about a tree piled high with presents?
No doubt about it, christmas is coming and newspapers are full of lists of gifts you could get and shops are full of bargains and don't forget this year's spin on the theme- the credit crunch christmas. how to get presents that don't break the bank. along with these articles you'll get the usual ones which talk about the true spirit of christmas and how we shouldn't forget that christmas is more than just a day you get a gift, drink mulled wine and eat turkey till you burst. So I shouldn't be too surprised at a Catholic Cleric talking about culture has become materialistic. But one thing he did say in the article struck me. Referring to Disney Films, he says:
"Where once morality and meaning were available as part of our free cultural inheritance, now corporations sell them to us as products."
I made a conscious decision for the 1st christmas of my eldest nephew that they will only ever get books from me for christmas. I figured that if they are going to get something, they might as well get something that will impart some kind of knowledge or skill. But gaining knowledge and gaining the idea of morality and meaning are two different things and isn't it true that by buying these gifts that are supposedly good for them we are also buying the idea that morality/ knowledge are products too?
Go watch or read, (and here you can) substitute any current film and you'll learn about being nice to strangers, being friends with everyone, taking care of the weak, taking care of our planet etc. The list is endless and it worries me. Because I have a fear that it is true. I have bought toys for my nephews, nieces, kids, cousins justifying the purchase that ultimately these gifts will teach them something. It's hard not to, either you buy them a toy that is just that a toy or you buy them a toy that hopefully will impart some kind of knowledge or skill thus making the idea of a toy a lot more palatable. (Even then, has anyone seen a toy that doesn't promise to do something besides just being something to play with?)
The point is- i have to buy something so i might as well try and buy something that will hopefully do some good. But will what I buy them actually teach them anything about being good?
So now, I'm trying to think back to my childhood. To all the presents that I received during Christmas and there are only 2 that i remember. The first was a red Snoopy Book Bag. The other a child size snooker table which converted into a table tennis table with a board that allowed you to play chess, checkers and snakes and ladders. That was a shared gift between my siblings and i and perhaps I remember it most clearly because I remember 1 weekend where my parents sat around with us playing the different games.
I know we live in a consumerist culture. Buy something and you'll be happy. Have that and your world will make sense. My fear is that by buying something for my nephews, I'm also creating this idea in them. Have a gift on christmas and you'll be happy.
All children deserve a gift at Christmas, and maybe it's not that complicated. Maybe it's just a day where kids get a gift and that's it. But it makes me wonder then- it's one thing about not forgetting the true meaning of Christmas but how do you stop Christmas being turned into a consumerist fantasy? can i still remember the true spirit of christmas and also feel excited about a tree piled high with presents?