Old Fashioned Christmas, Radical Idea

Being the time of year it is I feel the need to pass along a few thoughts that are rolling around in my mind.

I wander around the local malls, stores, the television and the world wide web and am surrounded by Christmas. Songs coming from every corner of every room I enter, lights and
decorations abound. Buy, buy, buy is the message everywhere.

I happen to live in a tourist area and this means it is multiplied with the commercialism of
bringing tourists in to shop, shop, shop. Christmas is everywhere you go this time of year.

Debates get hotter and hotter as the 25th nears over the commercialism and the meaning of
Christmas. The Christians are mad if a manger is left out of holiday decorations, the Jews
are mad if a menorah isn't displayed, we now have state regulations for decorations in all
government buildings, was Jesus really born on Dec 25th, is it a Pagan or a Christian
holiday, is it 'Happy Holidays', or 'Merry Christmas', ad nauseum..

As the years pass I see the meaning of Christmas going away and being replaced with a lot
of hatred and anger, stress and depression. This has become the time of year when more
people commit suicide and feel bad about themselves based on what they DON'T have. The haves and have not's are brought into sharp relief.


If you don't have the latest gadgets and hottest toys under the tree we feel sorry for you,
so we drop gifts in the Toys for Tots box at the local department store or we pick a name
off the angel tree and buy some warm socks for you. The churches ask for food donations to
give to the needy.





I can't help but notice that when giving to others, no one is purchasing a Wii or an MP3
player to drop in the box. It's usually the most basic of needs we stick in those big boxes that is supposed to light up the eyes of a child at Christmas.

Poor kids, they aren't getting a Nintendo for Christmas so lets give them a cheap plastic
firetruck and maybe that will make them feel better.(or us)

Poor homeless, they don't have a Mcmansion decorated to the hilt and relatives coming to
impress with how much they can spend on the holiday, so let's give them a can of spam and
hope that makes them feel better about themselves.(or us)

Poor lonely people, they have no family, so lets visit the nursing home and act like we care
once a year.

Charity after charity beg for your money, after all, it's almost the end of the year and you
can write it off your taxes.

Do your 'Christian' duty and give, give, give....

Let's face it, the holiday season has become all about money.

The reason people are so sad this time of year is because of all the commercialism. Spend,
spend, spend, and if you don't have it to spend then there's something wrong with you.

I think there's something wrong with buying into all of the commercialism.

Think back on your own childhood. Do you remember every present you ever got or do you
remember the time spent with family and friends more? What is it that made the holidays
memorable for you? Maybe THAT is what we should be passing down to our children.

If we could stop the madness and try having a holiday that involved a good meal shared with
family and friends, singing some carols together, perhaps sharing some handmade trinkets,
and celebrating what is really in our hearts and important, whether religious or not, maybe
the world would be a kinder, gentler place the rest of the year.

No one would feel inferior, no one would feel left out and lonely.

Spread the giving throughout the year. Everyone still needs a warm meal, a hug, a kind word

and a warm coat after the holidays.

Try having some backbone and standing against all the hype. Who knows, maybe it would spread and catch on and then we could really remember what we got for Christmas...

A bad case of the warm fuzzies... Lol!!!