Chestnuts are roasting on open fires, Jack Frost is nipping at people’s noses, and I love it. But when did Christmas change from a Christian holiday to a capitalist holiday?
According to BIGresearch, a Worthington, Ohio-based consumer research firm, total spending in America for the Christmas season will be a record $154 billion this year. Why? So kids can have more toys they don’t need? How many celebrators of Christmas actually recall the historical account of how Christmas came to be?
In the Roman Rite, Christmas does not actually begin until Dec. 25. The time prior is Advent, a time of penance and preparation for the actual day.
Abu Dhabi erects the most expensive (artificial) tree at the Emirates Palace Hotel, totaling $11 million. Dhabi is in the United Arab Emirates and is an extremely Islamic country with strict Islamic laws. While they do believe that Jesus was a prophet, they do not believe that he was the Son of God. Yet they erected an $11 million Christmas tree to celebrate the birth of Jesus? Seems a little fishy.
Society celebrates Christmas because it’s a chance to receive gifts. Granted, giving gifts is just as fun, too. But you don’t see Muslims celebrating Lent. Or Christians celebrating Passover.
I did some research about the number of people who celebrate Christmas and according to FoxData, 96 percent of American’s say they celebrate Christmas, while only 76 percent consider themselves as Christian.
One person commented on a blog on the topic, saying “I just use the holidays as an excuse to get free (stuff) or eat tons of food in one sitting.”
Is this what our holiday season has turned into? A chance to stuff our faces and spend all our hard earned cash? Christmas has turned into the ultimate capitalist holiday.
They start playing Christmas music on the radio before I’ve left my grandma’s house from Thanksgiving. Nearly 40 percent of shoppers have already started shopping before Halloween decorations have been put away, Business Insider said. Commercials are urging “holiday deals” and “special prices for the holidays” to trick consumers into thinking that the holidays are closer than they appear. And all of it is to boost consumerism.
As a society we cheapen our holidays by buying unnecessary goods and forgetting about what is really important.
I’m not saying we need to have an all-out war on Christmas. I love the season just as much as the rest of you do. I just want people to question if it’s really necessary to spend what Business Insider says will average more than $700 per person on Christmas this year.
But I urge everyone to try to remember how it all started and what the true meaning of Christmas is; after opening all of your gifts of course.
