Well, it's December now. Before long, students will be taking finals and then packing up and heading home to celebrate Christmas. It's hard to believe that Christmas is "only" about a month away. Anyone who has watched TV since at least early November has probably seen many commercials with Christmas themes by now. Because of this, many people probably started to feel like Christmas comes immediately after Halloween. With so many commercials with Christmas themes going on the air so far in advance of the "big day," it appears that salespeople are trying to take advantage of "the most wonderful time of the year" to make more money. The question must be asked: Have these business people forgotten whose birthday is being celebrated? And have they considered the possibility that they are causing others to forget as well?
Christmas, obviously, is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah to most Christians. Christians have traditionally used the weeks before Christmas (Advent), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the following weeks to commemorate the birth of Jesus and what it means to the world. Christians (and non-Christians who choose to do so) traditionally mark this occasion with decorations on and in their homes and by gathering with family and friends to celebrate, count blessings, and just enjoy one another's company. It is traditional for people choosing to observe the holiday to give family members and close friends presents. This tradition supposedly arose out of the fact that Christians believe that Jesus was a gift to the world from God, as well as from the gifts given to the baby Jesus at his birth by three Wise Men who visited him. These are wonderful traditions and help keep the true meaning of Christmas at the forefront. However, it appears that the seeds of the commercialization of Christmas are sown from the desire to continue these special traditions.
As soon as Thanksgiving is over (and sometimes, even before Thanksgiving), stores begin putting typical gift and decoration items on sale. Many people, especially in today's troubled economy, get their holiday shopping started as soon as possible to take advantage of these reduced prices. Unfortunately, as anyone who has been Christmas shopping recently can attest to, the sheer amount of people shopping at once can lead to a chaotic shopping trip. The crowds make it difficult to get a parking space and thus, hard to get into a store. There are often lines to get into stores that only leave people bored and frustrated. It is not inconceivable for people to wait in line only to find out that what they came for is sold out. Such experiences will leave people stressed out and ready to "snap" at anyone or anything. If this is the case, the question becomes: Is this stress and "snappiness" really consistent with the spirit of Christmas? It would appear that it is not. This phenomenon was parodied in the 1996 movie "Jingle All the Way."
The fact that Christmas-themed advertisements and sales begin so far ahead of Christmas casts doubt on the intentions of salespeople. If they are simply committed to supporting the desire to honor Christmas traditions, why do they start telling people why they are the "go-to" place long before most people are even thinking about Christmas? In early November, if Christmas-themed advertisements are not being aired, many people are just beginning to think about Thanksgiving and likely haven't given Christmas much thought yet. Therefore, running ads with Christmas themes and about Christmas sales appears to be a deliberate attempt to get people to start thinking about Christmas early. Since gifts and decorations have always been a cornerstone of this holiday and in times such as these when the economy is experiencing a downturn, many people will be drawn to sales that will enable them to keep up traditions while spending a modest amount of money. This means that the business people can start making their holiday money even earlier.
It appears that the emphasis on holiday shopping has already caused people to forget about the true meaning of Christmas. In conversations about the holiday, many people talk about the deals they got on a gift they bought or what they did while shopping. Only occasionally do people emphasize how nice it was to be with their family and friends or what they are thankful for.
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