The holiday season is upon us and I am trying diligently not to feed my inner curmudgeon. I must admit to having a lot of mixed feelings about Christmas. I totally embrace Thanksgiving, because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing I will have a wonderful meal with those I care about.
I realize that I can create a similar experience with Christmas day and I have. My need to run out and buy gifts that I hope will be appreciated by those that receive them has become a thing of the past. I now celebrate by sharing experiences that give my family and friends memories of us being together.
My own memories of the holidays are rife with nostalgia. I remember spending time with my grandmother making cookies and breads that she would give to friends and family. I received very few gifts and I still remember them because they lasted a very long time; a small toy piano, a red shiny wagon, a porcelain doll, a music box. They did not come all together, but one at a time, one Christmas at a time.
Perhaps part of my dismay is how wrapped our culture has become in the need to accumulate hordes of stuff that often ends up having no meaning. I have been witness to children ripping open package after package of contents that end up in a pile in their room. Their delight in any of it soon fades. We have all heard the metaphor that “too much of a good thing is too much”! Not only does this old adage make sense but it’s also something neuroscientists have discovered resonates with our brains. When the pleasure center of the brain is over stimulated it becomes harder and harder to feel pleasure.
Our 21st century culture has definitely created a mindset that fosters this concept. Consumerism has practically become a religion in America. We have slowly removed the possibility of having any respite from stores being open. There are probably a handful of days left and I am certain they too will soon go by the wayside. When did the retail industry become such a necessary part of the American experience? I truly would like to know how and when the transition occurred. Is our economy so entrenched in needing retail dollars to sustain itself that without them we would spiral into a huge depression? Not a day goes by without constant advertisements reminding us to buy, buy, buy. Many of the messages often allude to the fact that we should feel guilty if we are not purchasing something.
The media spends time reporting on how much we’ve spent this year compared to last year and shows us pictures of crowds pushing their way into stores that decided to open at 3AM on black Friday. Some people were injured in the wake of frenzied consumers who were fearful that they might not get their bargains .
How about spending an equal amount of time showcasing individuals that are volunteering their time helping their fellow man, or those that are overseas defending our country? How much do we need, and when will we have enough?
Perhaps it’s time to spend more time filling our souls than emptying our pocketbooks.
Merry Christmas to you Loretta!
I’m still watching your video and enjoying it more and more: “How Serious Is This?!”
It’s Dec. 5th I like to celebrate. I don’t know why we bother talking about a fictitious Santa when there was a Real St. Nicholas.
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38
you ask: “Is our economy so entrenched in needing retail dollars to sustain itself that without them we would spiral into a huge depression?”
and
“How much do we need, and when will we have enough?”
Until we answer the latter the answer to your first question is “Yes”
Please read the stories about the man known as St. Nicholas and see if you find it isn’t more in line with the True spirit of the Season?
Merry Christmas Loretta! Thank you So Much for demonstrating a better way to view things ;o)
“We have slowly removed the possibility of having any respite from stores being open.” How true, and how badly we need this. In the small town where I grew up stores were closed on Sundays and Wednesday afternoons routinely. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, always. We could use more of this.