Christmas, comercial or not?

[Nariah of Rivendell]

Is ther anyone out there who thinks christmas is too comercial? Besides me?

[gimli7410]

its commercial. i dont think anyone can remeber a time when it wasnt a time to buy gifts or anything. at ym school we ahve this thing at is is called buy nothing day. there was pictures of jesus sayin "when did i say to buy gifts on my birthday" but i geuss always giving is a way of showing love just that the markets get all the money

[HOBBIT]

its way too commercial.

imagine what christmas time is like for non-christians. it can be horrible. Christmas everything for several months.

[hectorberlioz]

i despise the christmas 'gift giving, and recieving' both are horrible.
what if you dont like your present? i usually hate the presents i recieve. no one cares wether i like classical or not. no, instead i get....
candy
school supplies
clothes
shoes
and maybe...
a movie.

i prefer to buy myself presents.
i know, i know. i 'm really ungrateful....
but i cant help it....

but! when I do buy gifts for people, i choose carefuly. i spend hours contemplating on what they like but dont have, and what they're likely not to get from someone else...

[Guillaume le Maréchal]

Christmas is the great secular feast of modern western civilization, with all the virtues of our modern society such as self-interest, materialism and hedonism. It is in many ways a hijacked holiday, just as the early Church hijacked the day from other non-Christian religions, albeit for more altruistic reasons.

I’m disgusted by “Hot Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving) when at any given moment between 5am and 9am in any retail store you can see humanity at its very worst: cheap, greedy, and above all rude. I’m deeply annoyed that for a month and half television commercials practically stuff holly down your throat, but come Christmas morning there isn’t a single commercial thanking the American consumer for becoming grossly indebted by enriching the profiteers, not to mention the countless usurers (i.e. credit card companies) and the collection agencies, practically watering at the mouth thinking of all the people they will get to harass by telephone and letter come June and July.

Has anyone tried to find a decent Christmas music album? That is probably the most frustrating thing about modern Christmas. You buy a CD filled with all your favorite Christmas carols, only to find out that its a recording of the pan flute and bagpipes accompanied by some old guy who sounds like he has a frog in his throat, or even worse, the carols are sung by Boyz2men (or however they misspell it).

Bah-Humbug?

Naw... Despite all the hype and the frustration that surrounds it, I still find plenty of evidence that the season has a much deeper meaning than commercialism, even today. Back in the 4th century, Christians took a non-Christian religious holiday and made it a feast day commemorating Jesus’ birth, and they borrowed many traditions from these non-Christian religions. This demonstrates that Christmas has always been a time of coming together despite differences. Even in the trampling of shoppers on Hot Friday morning, there’s still at the base the idea of giving, even though its couched in saving a buck at all costs. I think there’s many reasons to hold on to the season, as long as we use it to remind ourselves of the importance of looking beyond our differences in the spirit of our common humanity.

--Dave

[Lizra]

I'm not religious, so Christmas is just a pleasant party to me. It would be fine if I didn't watch any TV. I do tire of the nonstop bell ringers with their buckets outside of every store. The televising of christmas is what makes it obnoxious.

I love the tree, snow, and a day or too spent eating well with the family! Thank goodness my son doesn't believe in Santa Claus this year...I can make things pretty "cut and dried" as far as the gifts go. If everybody knows what they are going to get beforehand, hopefully there will be no overblown expectations followed by big teary letdowns. Christmas "magic"? Barf!

I love seeing all the beautiful lights and displays on the houses when driving around. Just going anywhere at night becomes fun. As an artist, Christmas can be an excuse for more beauty....so that is cool. It's fun if you are a cook and want to pull out all the stops with some fancy baking too. The whole "real meaning of Christmas" is pretty funny to me! ha!ha!

One of my favorite parts is going shopping after Christmas, when the stores are trying to purge themselves of all the ridiculousness. Seeing all those cranky people in the return lines, and 50 million plastic santas at 90% off! Serves them right!

Pretty funny about the bad Christmas music! Boyz 2 men...or The Chipmunks Christmas

[Lalaith]

I really love Christmas.
But I hate what the media and the firms, shops etc. have made out of it. They start playing christmas songs in December in every shop and after 5 minutes you can't stand it anymore.
And if I have to hear "Last Christmas" one more time I think I'll go crazy.

So, yes, I think it is too commerical.
Why can't it just be about friends and family?

[Falagar]

Originally posted by Lalaith
I really love Christmas.
But I hate what the media and the firms, shops etc. have made out of it. They start playing christmas songs in December in every shop and after 5 minutes you can't stand it anymore.
And if I have to hear "Last Christmas" one more time I think I'll go crazy.

Agreed. Yesterday, a group of Santas were playing traditional christmas song on the mall. In november?! And they've been selling "christmas-marzipan/choclate" since late october/early november! Takes away much of the fun.

[Hasty Ent]

Christmas can be as crass or lovely as you make it. Years ago I asked all my friends and family members to stop exchanging gifts with me. Now I can enjoy the holiday, its lights, smells and warmth, without buying stuff people don't need with money I don't have. In fact, many of my friends that are couples no longer exchange gifts with each other. Instead they choose a charity and make a donation with the money they would have spent on each other.

I don't know anyone that's religious, but the sentiments of peace on earth, good will etc, are worth celebrating, you must admit.

[Earniel]

I think the way I see the commercial attention Christmas gets is best captured in this cartoon I found following a link in Tano's sig.

[Ruinel]

I hate christmas. It sucks. I wish I could get it banned. Its nothing but commercialism gone wild. I don't even decorate. I wish it was replaced by a second Halloween.

[jerseydevil]

I like christmas decorations and baking cookies and all that. But it's generally a very depressing holiday for me. I like the beauty of Christmas. But it is too commercial. I do NOT want to hear anything about christmas until after Thanksgiving. The thing is - this year the stores had christmas stuff before halloween was over.

You know what though - it's a free market. It's commercial because the CONSUMER has made it commericial. It isn't the evil department sotres or the evil commercials. If no one bought anything before Thanksgiving - they wouldn't put the stuff out. If people didn't rush to the stores on "Black Friday" stores wouldn't open at 6:00am. It's the consumer who has made it commerial. Everyone has a choice and the majority of people have chosen to go into consumer mode on Christmas. I have never gone shopping the day after Thanksgiving and generally I don't go shopping until the week or a couple of days before Christmas.

[Elvengirl]

I'm not Christian and I love Christmas, just the feeling and spirit of the holiday puts a smile on my face. I love the music, decorations, trees, cookies, cold, Santa, movies, the whole deal.
I love to go out looking for the perfect gift to give to my family and friends.
I have soo many fond memories of Christmastime. It truly is a wonderful time of year.

I agree with JD, Christmas things start appearing in October, and I find it kind of ridiculous. I want to enjoy one holiday at a time. But people start buying at that time, so it is displayed. And if it makes people happy to rush to the store at 6 in the morning and spend all their money, then what's the problem?

I personally don't do my shopping until a week or two before Christmas, and I like the busy atmosphere in the malls. It adds more to the festive feeling of giving.

[Falagar]

Which reminds me: we have an internet poll going here in Norway, asking our trade-minster to make shops sell christmas-products later (haven't gone into detail, just signed it).

Not a chance in the world he'll notice it, but might as well try.

[HOBBIT]

If you are not christian, you have to accept it or you will go insane.

It does start in october.


Non-stop christmas music (on radio, in malls, etC), even a ton of christmas shows, starting in December. Decorations everywhere. Christmas this, christmas that.

And if you are white, everyone just assumes you are Christian.

The whole Christmas season can be bad if you are Jewish.
Almost no acknowledgement of Hanukah - every restaurant and store with huge christmas trees and only a few with tiny menorahs.

Also, Hanukah only went commercial because of Christmas.

It used to bother me - but I've just accepted it. I even whistle those catchy christmas tunes!

I know for a fact, that a majority of kids only like christmas because of all the presents they get and dont care much (if at all) about the whole jesus birthday thing. They just care about getting that new game or whatever.

[Mercutio]

Are you sure its "Christmas"? It seems to me like everything is "holiday." Marketing agents think they can't call their sales, etc. Christmas because it can be insulting! What is the world coming to? AHHHHHHH!

[HOBBIT]

Welll yeah, there are other holidays then too - like hanukah for example.


Just saying Christmas IS offensive.

Like a lot of people say "christmas vacation" for the holiday break.

Um, Hanukah usually falls under there too and who knows what other festivals or holidays??

Holiday season should be used.

[Dreran the Green]

No one in my family is very religous, but we all love Christmas anyway. We spend time with each other, watch Its a Wonderful Life ten thousand times I make everyone listen to "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" all season, you get the picture. Its all very nice.

It used to be Christmas Vacation in my district, but then someone had a lightbulb flick on over their head and it got changed to Winter Break.

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by HOBBIT
Welll yeah, there are other holidays then too - like hanukah for example.


Just saying Christmas IS offensive.

Like a lot of people say "christmas vacation" for the holiday break.

Um, Hanukah usually falls under there too and who knows what other festivals or holidays??

Holiday season should be used.

Tristan - you may be offended - which I highly doubt you are that offended - but Christmas is a NATIONAL holiday. Government isn't forcing you to beleive anything and I'm atheist. There is no nativity scene at the White House or anything. You sound like the people in Indiana who won't call Halloween halloween - but instead call it fall festival.

Oh and I had told Ruinel that I never saw a jewish person in New Jersey spell Chanukah like that. I told her the "H" spelling was the lazy way of spelling it and the only place I had ever seen it spelled like that was the midwest where they didn't know how to spell it. I guess I was wrong.

Also - when I was in school, the two years I went to public school - we celebrated Chanukah and Christmas. We sang Chanujah songs and Christmas songs, we made dredels. I was not brainwashed or offended. I liked the dredels.

[HOBBIT]

you can spell jewish things anyway you like.