As a person who works in the retail industry, I await Christmas with a feeling of dread. Many sources state that businesses, especially small retail stores, receive as much as 33-50% of their profits for the year. Involved in a new business venture, I can only hope the next month makes up for several months of unsatisfactory sales. On a personal level, I am not a fan of Christmas.
Since I do work in retail sales, I find that most of the people shopping with me are not joyously celebrating the season. They are often irritable after dealing with crowds and long lines, and they are probably spending more than planned. It is supposed to be a time of giving, yet it is culturally unacceptable to ask what a person wants or register for gifts. Gift certificates seem like a good alternative, except that they might not be to a store that the receiver would shop in. Going into a mall the day after Christmas, one can see the outrageous rush to return all of the unwanted gifts. If retailers truly need this holiday to keep up the economy, why not make it a time to be truly selfish? Buy the sweaters and knick-knacks you've been putting off all year. It just seems like it would be easier to buy for ourselves than waste all the time doing "the dance of Christmas." Just how did Christmas go from a celebration of the birth of Jesus to a time when retailers make most of their money for the year? Although I am not claiming to be a Biblical scholar, I do not recall the Bible stating that one should over-spend madly.
Jesus was probably not even born on December 25 but sometime between the Spring and early October. Sources used for this are indicated at the bottom of this article. The Emperor Aurelian declared December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in 274 A.D. In 336 A.D., Emperor Constatine proclaimed this holiday to be the birthday of Jesus. Why would Emperor Constatine make the sacred Christian holiday of Jesus' birth during the winter, despite evidence that he was born during the Spring? He obviously wanted to stop the pagan [using the term as a religion that is not Christian] celebrations. Cultures as far back as 4,000 years have celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 21. As this is the shortest day of the year, every day after promises to be longer. It is a time to celebrate re-birth, as longer days with more sun promote the planting of crops and a bountiful harvest to come. The Christians knew that in order for the religion to catch on, they could not take away the ancient people's pagan festivals. So, they Christianized a time that had been celebrated for thousands of years.
Again quoting Steve Kangas, "It is interesting to note that the vast majority of Christmas customs observed by Americans today were adopted only in the last 400 years, not the last 2,000 years. Furthermore, the Christ of the Gospels was an advocate of the poor; countless texts tell of his scorn for greed, money and the rich. The same goes for Saint Nicholas, the 4th Century Myran bishop who secretly gave anonymous gifts to the poor. The crass commercialization of Christmas today makes a mockery both Christian history and belief. The ancient people celebrated the overturning of hierarchy; namely, the poor becoming equal to the rich, the slave becoming equal to the master, the citizen becoming equal to the king. But today's holiday actually strengthens hierarchy and income inequality."
What I would propose for Christmas is what my family does. We have no small children in my family who would need "Santa Claus coming to town." We use the time as a family celebration to give thanks for having each other. One of our favorite traditions is on Christmas Eve when my brother and cousins (and significant others) get together to spend the night. We play games, watch movies, and have fun before the official family holiday. Also, we usually have lots of alcohol. We have found that drunkenness facilitates family bonding.
Because we all live in Southern California, home space is at a premium. A 550-sqare feet studio apartment is what I call home, so I do not have the room to store anything I do not LOVE. The parents are into practicing feng shui and regularly purge all the stuff they do not use. The idea of giving presents just to give them is not something that we want to do. Our parents repeatedly remind us that they don't need anything. As they are fairly well off, they don't. We have all had the experience of working in retail at some points in our lives and do not want to be the cranky people forced into shopping. If our parents decide to get us anything, they give the gift of cold hard cash. Rather than wasting their time buying something and our time returning it, they cut out the middle-man. If one of us sees the perfect gift for anyone in our family, we buy it and give it regardless of the time of year. The family trait of not being able to keep a secret alone prevents us from saving presents until Christmas. If I see a perfect tank top for my cousin, I wouldn't save it for December anyway.
If I really stop to think about it, my family is more like the ancient pagans celebrating the winter solstice than typical people celebrating Christmas. I feel incredibly lucky and wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I can't argue with 4,000 years of pagan logic.
Sources:
"Liberal Reasons Not to Celebrate Christmas" by Steve Kangas http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/NoChristmas.html
"When was Jesus Born?" http://www.new-life.net/chrtms10.htm
"Jesus' Real Birthday" http://users.aristotle.net/~bhuie/birthday.htm
Since I do work in retail sales, I find that most of the people shopping with me are not joyously celebrating the season. They are often irritable after dealing with crowds and long lines, and they are probably spending more than planned. It is supposed to be a time of giving, yet it is culturally unacceptable to ask what a person wants or register for gifts. Gift certificates seem like a good alternative, except that they might not be to a store that the receiver would shop in. Going into a mall the day after Christmas, one can see the outrageous rush to return all of the unwanted gifts. If retailers truly need this holiday to keep up the economy, why not make it a time to be truly selfish? Buy the sweaters and knick-knacks you've been putting off all year. It just seems like it would be easier to buy for ourselves than waste all the time doing "the dance of Christmas." Just how did Christmas go from a celebration of the birth of Jesus to a time when retailers make most of their money for the year? Although I am not claiming to be a Biblical scholar, I do not recall the Bible stating that one should over-spend madly.
Jesus was probably not even born on December 25 but sometime between the Spring and early October. Sources used for this are indicated at the bottom of this article. The Emperor Aurelian declared December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in 274 A.D. In 336 A.D., Emperor Constatine proclaimed this holiday to be the birthday of Jesus. Why would Emperor Constatine make the sacred Christian holiday of Jesus' birth during the winter, despite evidence that he was born during the Spring? He obviously wanted to stop the pagan [using the term as a religion that is not Christian] celebrations. Cultures as far back as 4,000 years have celebrated the Winter Solstice on December 21. As this is the shortest day of the year, every day after promises to be longer. It is a time to celebrate re-birth, as longer days with more sun promote the planting of crops and a bountiful harvest to come. The Christians knew that in order for the religion to catch on, they could not take away the ancient people's pagan festivals. So, they Christianized a time that had been celebrated for thousands of years.
Again quoting Steve Kangas, "It is interesting to note that the vast majority of Christmas customs observed by Americans today were adopted only in the last 400 years, not the last 2,000 years. Furthermore, the Christ of the Gospels was an advocate of the poor; countless texts tell of his scorn for greed, money and the rich. The same goes for Saint Nicholas, the 4th Century Myran bishop who secretly gave anonymous gifts to the poor. The crass commercialization of Christmas today makes a mockery both Christian history and belief. The ancient people celebrated the overturning of hierarchy; namely, the poor becoming equal to the rich, the slave becoming equal to the master, the citizen becoming equal to the king. But today's holiday actually strengthens hierarchy and income inequality."
What I would propose for Christmas is what my family does. We have no small children in my family who would need "Santa Claus coming to town." We use the time as a family celebration to give thanks for having each other. One of our favorite traditions is on Christmas Eve when my brother and cousins (and significant others) get together to spend the night. We play games, watch movies, and have fun before the official family holiday. Also, we usually have lots of alcohol. We have found that drunkenness facilitates family bonding.
Because we all live in Southern California, home space is at a premium. A 550-sqare feet studio apartment is what I call home, so I do not have the room to store anything I do not LOVE. The parents are into practicing feng shui and regularly purge all the stuff they do not use. The idea of giving presents just to give them is not something that we want to do. Our parents repeatedly remind us that they don't need anything. As they are fairly well off, they don't. We have all had the experience of working in retail at some points in our lives and do not want to be the cranky people forced into shopping. If our parents decide to get us anything, they give the gift of cold hard cash. Rather than wasting their time buying something and our time returning it, they cut out the middle-man. If one of us sees the perfect gift for anyone in our family, we buy it and give it regardless of the time of year. The family trait of not being able to keep a secret alone prevents us from saving presents until Christmas. If I see a perfect tank top for my cousin, I wouldn't save it for December anyway.
If I really stop to think about it, my family is more like the ancient pagans celebrating the winter solstice than typical people celebrating Christmas. I feel incredibly lucky and wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I can't argue with 4,000 years of pagan logic.
Sources:
"Liberal Reasons Not to Celebrate Christmas" by Steve Kangas http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/NoChristmas.html
"When was Jesus Born?" http://www.new-life.net/chrtms10.htm
"Jesus' Real Birthday" http://users.aristotle.net/~bhuie/birthday.htm
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