December 19, 2006

Christmas is too much pressure and junk

I’m sorry, but I don’t like this time of the year … the run up to Christmas, that is.

Too much pressure to buy, buy, buy!

And all the cheap commercialism surrounding this holiday season sucks.

Whatever happened to the idea behind Christmas (and I’m not talking about the religious rationale)? When I was a kid, sure we looked forward to the presents, but it was much more than that. It was a wonderful time of togetherness for the whole family and loved ones. And there was the whole preparation process of getting everything ready for Christmas, the tree, decorating, and so on. It took time and dedication to get everything just right. Quality, not quantity, was the main thing.

Not these days. Everything is instant and cheap. How many of you are actually reusing last year’s decorations? Not many, I bet. No, it’s easier just to go buy more cheap crap. And everyone now seems to believe that more is better … some of the houses in my neighborhood really look like Time Square or Piccadilly Circus with all the flashing lights and other “Christmas” paraphernalia. Bigger and flashier is better seems to be the mantra, but I think it just looks cheap.

I remember a travel program about Switzerland on PBS not so long ago where the tasteful understatement of their Christmas decorations really impressed me. And most everything was lovingly handmade, either by themselves or local craftsmen. The emphasis really was on “less is more” and it worked. And the other thing that struck me … everyone actually seemed to enjoy themselves, buying, decorating, sharing and so on. Not the all too familiar frenzy just to get “stuff” for Christmas and slap it on - the more the better. And people actually took their time to find presents that mattered and suited the recipients, not necessarily big and expensive, just very personal. When have you last witnessed that?

No Christmas has become just another big-buy event. Even kids don’t appreciate it anymore for what it really should mean. It’s sad.