We've officially passed Halloween and ticked off November 1st on our calendars and with that, every store around New York City has shifted their displays from Halloween to Christmas. It is amazing that in the course of about 72 hours, every halloween item managed to get shoved onto the sale rack and every wreath, fairy light, and "Home is Where the Holly Is" sign has been stacked brightly at the front of the store. It is at this time of year that I always start to get excited for the holidays.
For me, the holiday season is probably my favorite time of year, for all the reasons I just listed and more. I am the perfect consumer. I am the first in line to buy a snow globe and the last to stop blasting Bing Crosby from my bedroom. However, when I step back and actually think about it, the commodification of the Holidays does make me a little uncomfortable. It is totally antithetical to what the holidays are really about.
Christmas is about the birth of a man literally so poor that he was born in a barn and then spent the rest of his life helping the needy and the poor, not buying lavish gifts and getting upset if his parents didn't get him the the iPhone 6 plus. Hanukkah is all about celebrating a time when people had nothing and that nothing lasted for EIGHT WHOLE DAYS. And, Thanksgiving is about a time when those who immigrated to this country were saved from starving and freezing to death by the Native Americans (even though we repaid them by massacring them and attempting to claim all of their land as our own, but that's a topic for a different day).
All of these holidays celebrate events or people that were incredibly selfless and made the best of a bad situation. So why do we now cover those messages up with our obsession with with buying things? We obsess so heavily over consuming by buying clothes, decorations, presents, music, movie tickets and anything that has been marketed for the Holidays. We've even come to the point where we using the Rockettes and the Christmas Spectacular to sell Chase bank. Thats like market-ception, marketing within marketing. Perhaps we spend so much time and money because we want to perfect the holidays through baubles, clothes, presents and decorations. We're trying to match the Christmas's we see in commercials, catalogues and movies. Or perhaps we all just love the gratifying feeling of ripping though wrapping paper and finding something shiny and new inside. I think part of it is even the satisfaction that comes with finding and giving the perfect gift to a loved one. But in the mad rush to perfect the superficial we forget what we are really celebrating.
We're missing the real meaning of the Holiday season. We're forgetting about the things that, when I really think about it, are what I really love about this time of year. Spending time with our family and friends not worrying about work or keeping to a schedule and sharing our love with people, not monetarily but through actions and words, by holding them closer and reflecting on all the blessings within our life. Without these things the holidays are just another birthday or hallmark holiday. They lose what makes them special. So this holiday season, put away your wallet and try and expand your celebration to incorporate the little things. Try to find away to keep the charm and beauty of the holidays without buying into the consumer aspect. Reflect on all of the amazing people that have occurred in this past year and try and find a way to really show them what they mean to you. And of course, eat pie. You should absolutely consume that.
