I need to be up front and clarify, I don’t hate
Christmas. I have nothing against it as
a religious holiday…or even as an excuse to give gifts…which, I believe, are
mutually exclusive events, but I digress.
What I do have a problem with is the commercialization of the event,
because, ultimately, that’s what infiltrates our lives most.
Don’t get me wrong, my family, while wildly Jewish (Reform
Jews…i.e. Bacon and Cheeseburger Jews), always have had holiday
get-togethers. We're Easter and Christmas Jews. We exchange gifts…go out
to eat on Christmas Eve, and have a massive Christmas brunch, complete with
presents and Grandma’s get-rich-quick holiday themed scratch-offs. Oh yeah, movies and Chinese food on Christmas
day too. We’ve taken trips into NYC
specifically to sit on Santa’s lap and see The Tree (capitalized because there
is only one) at Rockefeller Center. I
like the City all decorated and it’s nice to see people yearning to see some of
the decorative spectacle which is Christmas in New York.
However, not being Christian, this time of year poses many
challenges. I don’t mind holiday music
as long as it’s tastefully done and doesn’t represent a grandiose
oversimplification of the intended spiritual message. I do HATE hokey re-hashes of Christmas
Classics for TV holiday specials. I don’t
want to hear the flash-in-the-pan croak “White Christmas” when I can turn on a
radio or CD (or music stream) and hear Bing Crosby or Nat King Cole do it
right. There are exceptions: She and Him’s
Christmas album is refreshingly reserved and not over the top at all. Also, the YouTube hit of Zoey Deschanel and
Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” is adorable
and, again restrained and tasteful. But,
all in all, there are songs not related to the “season” that some of us who don’t
celebrate the religious holiday would like to hear instead of 5 crappy techno renditions
of “Little Drummer Boy” as we do our grocery shopping or visit the pharmacy.
Also, I understand capitalism. I get that the “holidays” drive commerce…but
isn’t that a problem? Every commercial
is screaming with red and green reminders of sales and must-have products for
the whole family. I believe Charles
Schultz had it 100% correct. And, in the
span of a half-an-hour, he was able to combine some of the spiritual and
biblical messages of which Christmas is supposed to be about and show how, when
a community embraces the sharing and caring messages of Jesus and his
proclaimed teachings, that this world can be a beautiful place, regardless of
social class, economic output, and need for material possessions.
The challenge, then, is for me to tune out the crap (or what
I deem crap; you may like it, and that’s on you) and encourage the spirit of
gratefulness of what you have, and joy of giving that this time of year
peripherally endorses through the sales of $300 55-inch TVs at WalMart. If only there was a holiday where the focus
was on family, and love and giving, and thankfulness without all of the
commercial bric-a-brac. If only there
was another day where we could celebrate togetherness that was proximate to the
Holiday season without the pressures of gift giving or being force-fed guilt
through a vast media frenzy encouraging gluttonous consumption of trinkets and
bling. Then, and only then, we could
focus on the truly important messages of life, spirituality and family. That is, until WalMart opens at 8pm.
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