I don't have any evidence except for my own memory, and yes, I have already done my actual blog post, but while reading the other blog posts, I started thinking about Christmas. It has been advertised since the end of Halloween (skipping Thanksgiving, since the only money made off of that is from buying Turkeys), and I started wondering: is there a true meaning to Christmas anymore? Sure, it was created to celebrate Christ's birthday, but I'm Jewish and my family celebrates it. I know Christmas is a time for family and being together, but it seems that the focus has been shifted to presents. Getting and receiving, it's all the same in the way that it's become a consumer holiday, just another day dedicated to buying things.
What do you think about the level that Christmas has become a commercialized holiday?
I completely agree with this. In fact, as I was reading this I heard a Macy's Christmas sale commercial come on on the TV. And just now another one. People tend to just ignore these commercials, but they're every where, even weeks after Christmas when every thing REALLY goes on sale. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years people don't even know what Christmas means anymore besides it being a day to give and receive gifts. For some reason, I don't think that's what the Christians intended. Where did this gift giving trend start anyway?
ReplyDelete-- Nicole Schoenbrun
I think it's already happening, some little kids don't even know what Christmas is about. All they see are presents, so they like it and go along with the whole Christmas spirit. Behind the huge sparkling Christmas tree with colorful wrapped presents, is a tiny nativity set. The nativity set is overlooked because of the attention we grab with the presents and the tree and all the decorations everywhere-we go way over the top, which makes it hard for children to understand the real meaning. How is a nativity set supposed to compete with a HUGE pile of presents?
ReplyDeleteI think this commercialization is even stretching beyond Christmas. Hanukkah, for example is a holiday to celebrate a light that stayed on for multiple nights but now it is also just a gift-giving holiday for many. Christmas is losing its meaning in many homes. People have stopped attending Church services and instead they just immediately start unwrapping presents. Presents shouldn't be the main focus yet they are and it's sad to see that as a society, we are starting to value mere objects more than our ideologies.
ReplyDeleteHolidays have indeed lost their true meaning. Historical accomplishments and events have been reduced to nothing more than vacation breaks and opportunities for us as consumers to fall for the companies' advertisements and their discount sales that we believe will be beneficial for us. However, the companies are not the only factors that play a role in the death of the holiday spirit. There's also the fact that we are given day offs from school on these days. Initially, it was believed that this was necessary in order to give the students a day to appreciate the holiday but all we've learned to appreciate is a chance to relax from having too much school work. Putting this into consideration, it would be coherent to assume that the board of education might establish 9/11 as a school break. We, the generation that has experienced this tragic event, truly understand the significance of this day but it's inevitable that the later generations will eventually forget about this crisis and think that this is just a day to sleep in late.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Thsi is certainly true. Kids have become so caught up in the presents and great deals provided by companies that they have lost the spirit of christmas. Also, when you said how your family, jewish, is celebrating the holiday, that was great evidence for your point. People have lost track of the meaning of christmas. I bet half the kids celebrating the holiday don't even know what it is for. This proves the path our society is taking: A superficial, going through the motions, type society.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with this. When people think of Christmas, or Hannukah for that matter, they should be thinking about family and tradition. Instead, our minds are wrapped around the idea that these holidays are all about presents. This could be a result of the fact that commercials come on the TV advertising Christmas sales two months in advanced. Advertisers are consuming our minds and making us think that holidays are all about the gifts. Over time, it can be shown that the zeitgeist of Christmas has become more and more reform. It started off where people would spend all day in church devoted to their religion while people now might not even go to church and spend the day opening gifts. It is really sad what our world can come to when we lose sight of what is truly important.
ReplyDelete-Nicole Talbi
Interesting point. As a child, I was always a little vexed when a 100% Jewish friend would celebrate Christmas along with Hannika. They would say, "Well, my mom felt bad that I didn't have Christmas presents". Not only does show how consumerism has inevitably diffused into the minds of most Americans, but it also exemplifies how shallow and greedy we are when we think of the Christmas Holiday. All cultures are guilty for creating and enforcing these implications. As a child who only celebrated Christmas, I would primarily think of it as a present filled day and my secondary thoughts would be about going to church and seeing family. It was my version of Hannika. I enforced these present-theme when I would explain what Christmas was like to my Jewish friends. I failed to mention the real reason I celebrated it (which has religious implications), and emphasized the more shallow reasons. As a result, I continued to spread this aura of Christmas, further imposing a consumerism mindset.
ReplyDeleteThis post is completely accurate. It seems that all holidays have become commercialized and lost their true meaning. The smallest details that make the holidays so fun are the details that take away from the true meaning of the holidays - such as the Christmas sales, the presents, the excessive lights and decorations, the music on the radio, and all the Christmas and Hanukkah shops that open up just for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. What happened to the religious aspect of these holidays? I know that for me personally, I don't care about recieving presents on Hanukkah, but feel really uncomfortable if I can't light the candles on all 8 nights. Lighting the candles is important to me because it is the most important part of the holidays to me. As for Christmas, decorating the tree has become more important than the reason why there is a tree in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI defiantly agree that the focus of Christmas, for many, has shifted. It is so sad to think that children today only view Christmas as something that comes wrapped in a box with a bow. Children today are very materialistic and companies are use that to their advantage. Christmas is a spiritual thing that is intangible to retailers. Therefore, they have to shift the holiday from spiritual to commercial--which has been a huge success. I think we should do what the English do and give presents on Boxing day to allow people to celebrate and still consume.
ReplyDeleteThis post brought something up that I think about all the time. I always wonder about Christmas. Being Jewish, I don't celebrate it, but I have always respected the idea behind it, and that it was a holiday for Christians to honor their Messiah. But modern Christmas has alawys bugged me. It doesn't seem to honor Christ's birth as much as it honors Saint Nicholas, a saint who is honored for his generosity to poor children by giving them gifts. This would be very nice, if the holiday had been designed to honor the saint, and not Christ. I have a deep resepect for those who put the scene of Christ's birth outside as a decoration for Christmas (sorry, I know there's a name for that scnene, but I always forget what it's called). I admire the people who put it out, because that (to me) should be the real reason for celebrating Christmas, not presents and material items. It saddens me that something as spiritual and sacred as religion has become so shallow and materialistic.
ReplyDelete