Perhaps I'm too much of a traditionalist. Despite being wholeheartedly atheistic, I believe in holidays. I believe that holidays are for celebrating. They're for gathering with friends, family, and neighbours. They're for random acts of kindness, smiling at strangers on the street, mending fences with old adversaries. I believe in the Norman Rockwell painting, or at least some version of it that has smiling people, copious amounts of food, and warm gatherings. I believe in hyggelig - a Danish concept that doesn't translate well, but involves getting cozy with food, drink and good company.
So it burns my wick to see the holidays turned into an excuse for saving money on cheap trinkets, new electronics and clothes. Really? It's more important to get a cheap tv than spend quality time with the people important to you? Is it really worth it to line up at Best Buy at 3am to get a new iPad when you could be at home enjoying a day off? and is it really worth it when some poor shop-person gets trampled to death by crazed shoppers trying to get to the cheap laptops? That it remains such a massive consumer event makes me sad for the state of our society.
I myself will choose to stay home curled up with my other half and my kitties and be thankful for the stuff that I have. The stuff that I want can wait for another day.
About Me
- kirsten
- I'm a fisheries biologist living (currently) in a small town in northern British Columbia. I spend the vast majority of my summer tromping around the wilderness assessing fish habitat for a variety of proposed industrial (mostly mining) projects. And in the winter I spend the vast majority of my time writing about what I did all summer. In my spare time, I'm a bagpiper, skier, fisher, procrastinator, amateur photographer (very amateur) and online lurker. I have 3 cats named Beaker, Bunsen and Links, and a significant other who thankfully feeds them..
OutCampaign
2 comments:
Argh; well said! There's an ad out -- I think it's for Best Buy -- where the elves are talking about the magic of Christmas, and the Frosty-looking snowman starts singing a Frosty-ish song about making boys and girls happy. He's made to look stupid as the elf says he meant the magic of people saving MONEY, stupid.
I'm an old fogey, I suppose, but it makes me sad/angry each time.
No. It is not worth it and I wouldn't like it either. Stay in line at 3:00 am to buy something? No way. But I don't think the society is rotten due to it.There are people that like it and I think the best of all is that you have the options open: stay at home, go shopping frenzy, celebrate, don't celebrate, celebrate in your own way, etc. I think the sad situation would be don't having those options. And there are a lot of places in this world where the options do not exist.
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