What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think that Christmas is right around the corner? For many of us, we immediately think of presents, our wish lists, and how much shopping we have left to do. The holidays have always been a time of giving, but how much giving is too much? When does the giving of the Holiday season become more materialistic than generous? The Christmas season is becoming less and less about family or traditions and more about the gifts we get and the money we spend. Crazed shoppers skip the sleep on Thanksgiving to fight off others to save money on the years hottest appliances. People spend hundreds of dollars buying for friends and family, and worry more about the money value of the gift than the meaning behind it. The Holiday season becomes more of a competition for who can give the better present than a celebration of religion, family, and loved ones.
Now more than ever, with the state of our economy, people should be more frugal with their money. So many people are struggling to make ends meet; yet families spend immense amounts of money buying gifts that put them in debt for months. Despite the downward fall of the economy this year, online spending is anticipated to increase by almost 12% from previous years. While I agree with trying to keep Christmas and other Holidays the same despite financial difficulties, where do we draw the line between attempting to normalize and senseless spending that will cause more problems later? I think that if people focused more on the joy and spirit of the Holiday season than the materialistic aspect, this time of year would be much more joyful.
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I think that the Christmas season has become much too focused on buying items and there is a lack of true holiday spirit and meaning. When going out shopping lately, I have noticed that people are not happy and enjoying themselves. They are ruthlessly hurrying and impatiently trying to get around other people so they can get there products and get out. I know that it is stressful for people, parents especially, to not let their loved ones down on Christmas. But I think that if there wasn't so much hype about presents and more focus on the true meaning of the hoiday (love, family, gratitude) then children wouldn't be so caught up on presents. It is just another result of our materialistic society where money is the center of everything. I personally love the Christmas season and all the warmth and happiness that comes with it. But I feel less of that spirit lately due to stress about spending money. I think everyone needs to take a step back and realize that gifts are not the main reason for the season and we should not allow it to ruin the holiday.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this blog entirely, christmas has become too focused on spending money and getting people the perfect gift. Too much stress is put on one another to spend whatever it cost to get them the right gift. I for one am no better. I went out and spent two-hundred dollars on my parents gifts alone. I did not anticipate to do so but I like many others got caught up. Two-pay checks went into these gifts. We as a society have become to caught up in materialistic things. I agree with Emily and think the holidays should be more about family and friends not shopping. The problem is how do we do so when our whole society pressures us to do so. If someone spends a lot on you, can you just sit back and not return a gift. I guess we've all gotten caught up in this giving frenzy.
ReplyDeleteI admit when I was younger all I thought about when Christmas came around was what I was going to put on my Christmas list for my parents to get me. As I’ve grown up and become more mature I feel like my attitudes toward Christmas have changed. It is no longer about how many gifts are under my Christmas tree I value the time I spend with my family and the memories I’m making. Even though my attitudes toward Christmas don’t focus on the materialistic things anymore this is not the case for so many people. People are consumed with buying a ridiculous amount of gifts and spending so much money, sometimes money that they can’t afford to spend. Especially this year with the horrible economy, people should be thinking about other ways to give rather than buying people expensive gifts. Whether it’s donating some clothes you don’t wear anymore or volunteering at a local homeless shelter, there are so many options. People have become so consumed with status in society and valuing material things rather than relationships with people and quality time spent with loved ones. Holidays have become a time for people to be greedy and spend ridiculous amounts of money. People think it is okay because it is Christmas. This often leads to debt and credit card bills that people can’t pay. This holiday try and think about the meaning of a gift before you buy it, not just about what other people will think about it and how much it will cost.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your thinking. Over the past years, the meaning of the holidays has been changed and the materialistic aspect of it has gotten out of control. I will admit that if my parents told me that this year we were not going to exchage gifts but instead just celebrate the joy of the holiday season I would be a little upset. To me, buying gifts is part of the fun of it all...surprising the people you care about with something wonderful that depicts how much you care for them. But I agree...I think many people tend to cross the line with how much money they are spending and how many gifts they are purchasing. What is just as bad is that a lot of pressure that is put on these spenders is the fact that their children's wish lists are very long and demanding. This may be the reason why a lot of economic problems are being added on. Instead of bring everyone together for the holidays, this trend is further separating people and bringing about more and more inequality through this obsession with materialism. It seems it would do everyone some good to reevaluate some of their values.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Christmas for many people is a superficial and commercialized holiday. Many people focus on what presents will be waiting for them under the tree on Christmas morning. This was my first year working in retail on Black Friday... complete insanity. The sad part is my managers told me it was much worse last year. I feel as though the spending on Christmas presents is just what is expected in society. Whether you ask or not, people will buy you things.
ReplyDeleteFor me personally my view on Christmas has transformed over the years. When I was younger it was all about Santa Clause, Jesus's Birthday, and the presents. When I found out Santa wasn't real, I was still focused on the presents, the holy aspect of the holiday, and began to appreciate the family aspect more. Now, I'm all about the spirit of the season. I truly do believe that it is the season of giving and of hope. I love spending time with my family. I watch Christmas movies with my mom for ours. I even got my childlike belief in Santa back.
What I'm trying to say is that for me Christmas is a feeling. In fact, I wake up Christmas morning a little upset because I feel like Christmas is over. Christmas should be a time to spend with those who matter: family and friends. For me, it is the little things that matter like the eggnog, the family games, and the silly movies. Christmas would mean much more if everyone could focus on the spirit, not the presents.
I agree with your logic here Jess, but there is a lot more to this than you wrote down. Yes, Christmas should not be about giving and getting present as this has become the focus of the holiday as of late. Yes, Christmas in the U.S should shift its attention to spending more quality time with family for the holidays and enjoying each others company during this happy time of year. But what you are suggesting seems to be that we should stop buying presents...and I can tell you right now its not going to stop. Despite this economic depression, people are going to keep buying gifts on Black Friday, getting the best deals on the latest things, and giving them to family members and friends on Christmas. I am not disagreeing with you on the fact that we've lost the spirit of Christmas, I am just saying that you probably won't convince a lot of people to think otherwise. Besides, the economy actually picked up on those days you mentioned and during the Christmas season is when the economy usually is the strongest. We should take the time, however, to reflect upon what is most important in our lives and not what is under the tree come Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteI would definately say that christmas has become more a materialistic holiday as opposed to a season of giving. Everything is so much money, and it seems as though the list you have to buy presents grows every day. For my relatives during christmas we decided that we should set a limit for how much we spend on each family. Buying a present for each person becomes harder and harder each year as prices for everything rise up. Christmas is supposed to be a holiday to spend with the family, not a day to open presents and marvel in our new things.I cannot deny that I do enjoy getting presents each year and make a wish list myself. It is a very tempting holiday to want to get everything youve been dreaming about recently. I think that Christmas will forever remain the present holiday, but I do believe that despite the presents there is some sense of family value in that you spend time with your family and friends and the feeling you get on christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteChristmas seems to have lost a lot of its true meaning. People are so concerned about getting everyone they know a gift, that they forget about being grateful for what they have. People seem to get irritated around the holidays when they should be feeling joy and happiness. I think people get caught up in the gift-giving instead of finding meaningful presents for loved ones. Even at places like Walmart, people get trampled when fighting for a present. We should focus less on materialistic things and more on gifts from the heart. People should try to feel happiness simply from being together with family and friends over the holiday season.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Christmas season seems to have lost its true spirit. I work in a clothing store, and the holidays are the most stressful times to be at work. It's hard to comprehend why people feel the need to spend so much on their Christmas presents and why they become so easily stressed about finding the perfect outfit for their loved one. I understand that we all want to be known for giving great gifts, but what happened to "It's the thought that counts?" Children are becoming more spoiled and they seem to be expecting more and more presents underneath their Christmas tree. Now, we obviously won't be able to change everyone's view on the Christmas season, but I feel that we should try to lead by example and show people that it's not about what you receive, it's about the thought behind it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this blog. Christmas really has lost its spirt for most people. But I do believe for others it hasn't.
ReplyDeleteFor the people who lost the spirit, they just want to get the best presents. They don't care about the true meaning of christmas. They don't believe and sometimes their kids don't even believe.
For me, I truely love the meaning of christmas. I love to do all the charities and just give to the needy. Christmas needs to be more about the thought and less about the materialism.
I believe that Christmas is more of a time to be thoughtful and appreciative than to be greedy or materialistic. Some people are forgetting the religious value or background behind the holiday, and are instead replacing this aspect with consumer ideals and shopping lists. I believe that the abstract should be more significant than the concrete in the Christmas season -- although receiving gifts is always nice, and giving great gifts always results in a rewarding feeling, the joy that surrounds families and friends as they spend time together is incomparable. I personally understand the negatives of this argument, since I love buying tons of gifts for all my relatives and friends simply because I love to see them happy. :-) But I've realized that the really long and heartfelt letters I write in the cards about how much they mean to me is just as meaningful as the actual gift -- if not, more. If people can neglect the consumerism that surrounds the holidays -- which, by the way, businesses feed on and push, since Christmas brings in so much revenue for their company -- then maybe the true meaning of Christmas can be known and felt by all.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree on the fact that Christmas and the holidays have become more about spending, buying, and a competition. I agree on the fact that the holidays have lost its true meaning. I also completely agree on the fact that we are in a recession and that we should save our money.
ReplyDeleteThough this is out of our control maybe you and i can try and save our money but others wont just because you want them to. We should all look back and remember what Christmas is all about and that we should be more tohughtful and giving in these holidays and those to come.
The true meaning of Christmas is the religious aspect of the day; Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem and wrapped in swaddling clothes. The season of Christmas is suppose to be a celebration of his birth. It is a season that is suppose to focus on love, family, and joy. However instead, like the blog states, the Christmas season now revolves around buying gifts, which puts much pressure on individuals. Christmas is actually listed as one of the top things that cause serious stress.
ReplyDeleteI woke up at early Black Friday morning and drove up to Nashua, New Hampshire just for the experience. At 3:30 a.m. there was a line out the door waiting to get into Old Navy. The store actually put guard out in front whose job was to let customers into the store in shifts. Is this not insanity?
Although I love the myth of Santa Clause, it is a cute tradition; however, I question whether we should discontinue it. Children Christmas morning wake up and question why they did not get everything on their list? They then continue to question why their friend Danny got a new ipod and plasma screen television, while they only got a new toy truck and pajamas. Children become extremely disappointed and form misconceptions that Santa “hates them”, when in reality it is just because their parents had a smaller budget to work with.
My mom once recounted a story to me about one Christmas when she was in first grade. Her father had to sadly break it to her that there was no Santa, and that he could not afford to buy presents for my mother and her three other siblings that year. Luckily, a local Church donated a few gifts. My mom recalled she would never forget that Christmas because her father put the presents on the couch instead of under the tree so it would appear as if there were more gifts. Imagine having to break it to your children at a young age that there was no Santa Clause? Imagine the look of disappointment on their faces. Although I personally love the myth, would we not be better off without Santa? It would surely change the meaning of Christmas for the better, no?
I agree. Christmas is very expensive if you want it to be that way. i myself spent 500 dollars only on 6 gifts still needing to buy 3 more people. Im the type that i want to get the perfect gift for a certain someone and i dont look at the prices of the stuff. Hopefully for next year, i dont get caught up in christmas and waste less money. Christmas for me is giving gifts and not expect stuff back. It may sound like a lie but its the truth.
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