Christmas – the good, the bad and the ugly
Text
Christmas – the good, the bad and the ugly
By Keith Sands
Christmas is one of those holidays which means very different things to different people.
It can be a spiritual time, a family time, a time for giving, a time for partying or a time for just over-eating... Most people (in those countries where it is the main religious festival of the year) find something to enjoy about Christmas, whether they are Christians or not. But hasn’t Christmas in the consumer age become just a bit too big? And a lot too commercial?
I think so. The secret of a good Christmas is to be selective. Here is my personal list of the things Christmas (at any rate, Christmas in Britain) would be infinitely better without. Let’s get rid of …
Plastic Christmas trees
Fussy people don’t like trees that drop their needles on the carpet. Surely, in the age of vacuum cleaners, this is not a problem any more? Worst of all are those plastic trees that come with their own decorations already attached, so depriving children of the great pleasure of hanging the decorations themselves. Replace with: real fir trees, from sustainable forests.
Fairy lights that don’t work
We have sent people to the moon. Computers have changed our lives. On the internet, huge amounts of information travel all over the world at the speed of light. So it shouldn’t be too difficult to put a few coloured light bulbs in a row, so they last until New Year without breaking down. Replace with: candles – and fireproof fir trees.
Slade’s 'Merry Christmas, Everybody'
A stomping, two-chord song from the dark days of 1970s rock. Played endlessly in British pubs and on the radio through December. It is the musical equivalent of jumping up and down with heavy boots on and trying to drink beer at the same time. I remember once, at a Christmas party, picking up my beer and taking a sip – to find out someone had used the can as an ashtray. And this song is the theme tune of that kind of party. Replace with: The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s 'Fairytale of New York': a great, soulful Christmas song.
Bing Crosby’s White Christmas
While we’re on the subject of Christmas songs, let’s not forget that this sentimental 1950s tune is the biggest selling single of all time. It’s ideal for falling asleep in an armchair, but finally just too nostalgic. And very annoying. Replace with: 'Silent Night', a beautiful German carol known all over the world.
Office parties
Doesn’t a computer decorated with tinsel and an office with paper chains hanging from the ceiling look just a tiny bit depressing? And office Christmas parties are worse. Under the influence of cheap wine in paper coffee cups, strange things happen with the photocopier. Rude messages are faxed to clients. Most people can’t relax in the office. And those that can will probably do something they’ll regret later. Replace with: an extra afternoon off work.
British Christmas Weather
In Richard Curtis films (like the recent hit Love, Actually), it always snows at Christmas in London. The city is covered with a beautiful white blanket, the perfect setting for a romantic happy ending. What’s the reality of Christmas weather in the south of England? Grey skies with a good chance of cold drizzle in the late afternoon. Replace with: Russian Christmas weather.
TV
It’s a fact that we spend more time in front of the TV at Christmas than at any other time of year. The TV schedules are filled with old films, comedy 'Christmas Specials', soap operas with Christmas-related plots, and of course hundreds of adverts. Switch it off and visit your relatives instead. Replace with: log fires, board games.
Turkey with Cranberry Sauce
In Britain, the usual Christmas dinner is turkey with cranberry sauce – although ultra-traditionalists may prefer goose. Cranberry sauce is basically a kind of jam. We don’t put jam on meat at other times of year, so why at Christmas? Replace with: no cranberry sauce.
Consumerism
You know what I mean. Adverts for toys on children’s TV. Department stores that put out Christmas decorations as early as September. The stress of Christmas shopping. Everywhere the message is spend, spend, spend. Christmas is a Christian religious festival, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s not just an excuse for making money. Replace with: midnight carols at church, peace on earth, and goodwill to all men.
So that’s my advice. Avoid these things and you’ll have a good chance of having a truly Merry Christmas. Which is what I wish you now. And a happy new year!
Task
Try the activity.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
Comments
I totally agree with the opinion and the ideas of the author. Christmas has become too commercialized. It is very sad that the real meaning of Christmas has gone. Our generation is very materialistic and so are the presents. It is all about buying and getting the most expensive present. But the real meaning of it all is to sit with your family around the Christmas tree, having fun, listening to music and enjoying so much more things that you cant buy with no money in this world!
I totally agree with the author that Christmas has become too commercial.
The ideal Christmas should be a spiritual time. You should sit together with your family, celebrate and have fun, but in reality it is all about getting a lot of expensive presents.
In my opinion people should spend more time to think about its meaning and also impart their children that it is not only to make presents to each other. Maybe we all should use some of the money for charitable donations instead of buying a dozen things we really don’t need.
Really important to me is to keep traditions up and just enjoy the get-together of the whole family.
I definitely agree with the author, because Christmas has become far too commercialized so much that people seem to believe that presents are the true meaning of Christmas. Meanwhile Christmas has lost all meaning especially the Christmas tradition. But Christmas now has any meaning or reason you want to give it. In my opinion its important to keep hold of the tradition and join Christmas Day with your family and your friends.
In my opinion, Christmas is something very individual and for that reason there are different opinions concerning the subject which should be respected. The author states this in the first paragraph: ”Christmas is one of those holidays which means very different things to different people“
All in all I have to say that I think the article is written with a lot of negative energy. While the author declares that “ it can be a spiritual time, a family time, a time for giving, a time for partying or a time for just over-eating“, I think he spends a lot of time mentioning negative arguments in the article, that turn the holiday into something bad and something you should feel guilty about .
I think it should be everyone’s own decision how to celebrate christmas. I don’t think it makes a big difference if you have a plastic tree or fairy lights, since it should be taken into consideration that people may be allergic to real trees and it is clear that real candles present a fire hazard.
When it comes to Christmas music I think it’s just silly to say that you should replace one song with another- ‘classier song’- or stating that a song is too nostalgic, just because it happened to become a classic over the years. If you are tired of hearing all of these songs, then just don’t listen to them. For some it may be wonderful to listen to Christmas songs over and over again, while for others it is simply too much. But nobody is forced to listen to them.
This can be said for all the arguments mentioned. Nobody is forced to participate in these stereotypes mentioned. Everybody can approach their Christmas festivities in any way they wish. Whether they have their Christmas dinner with cranberry sauce or without, or whether they turn on the TV during the holidays and watch all of those 'Christmas specials' or not.it is up to the individual.
In my opinion Christmas has definitely become too commercial. It should be a family time and not a reason for overspending his budget.
Anyway I don’t agree on a few aspects of the author. Why shouldn’t we use plastic trees? I don’t think that it’s necessary to cut down more trees if there is the possibility to use an artificial one for a bigger space of time than a few weeks.
Moreover, especially families with little children or old people should not even think about replacing fairy lights with candles. This is just dangerous and irresponsible!
Furthermore everyone should be allowed to eat whatever he/she at Christmas. Cranberry sauce or not? – Nobody cares.
Finally I totally agree on the last paragraph. The annual shopping frenzy has nothing to do with a religious festival. Unfortunately we can’t change the mind of the world’s population, so everyone should spend Christmas as he/she likes best.
I totally agree with K. Sands opinion about the change of peoples' values caused by the economy and the commerce.
But the sad thing is that it's not just during Christmas time, also during Easter the media and the supermarkets try to convince the people to buy presents and lots of chocolate. But do we need chocolate Easter bunnies already in February or de we need a chocolate Santa Claus already at the end of October?
No, we don't need them so early, but nowadays it's almost normal that those things are already two months before time available.
I'm lucky that i can still celebrate a traditional and calm Christmas with my family every year...
Christmas is the most popular time all over the year - isn't it? There are lots of presents, Christmas trees, lights and snow. Who is not dreaming of a white Christmas?
From my point of view, Christmas is the celebration of love. People should think a little bit more about it and should not buy expensive presents or senseless decoration, for example. They should take more care about friends and family.
Why is Christmas only celebrated at Christmas and not all over the year?
First of all, I totally agree with the idea of the author Keith Sands. The problem of our society is that the commercialization raised dramatically within the last years.
Not only the adjustment in Christmas rituals, but also the consumerism is distressing.
I think within a decade, children will not even know that Christmas trees are natural, or that candles are replaced by electric lights. That is one thing, we could work on.
Of course everyone can decide on his own, whether they want to change their Christmas Eve or not. But perhaps it could help people to break off their consumerist and commercial thoughts, if they remember the true idea of Christmas.
In my opinion Keith Sands is right, when he affirms that Christmas is getting too commercial nowadays. It is true, that people forget about about it’s real meaning. Magazines are fixed on earning as much money as possible and people under pressure rush on the streets in the last minutes to buy presents. It’s all about material things.
I believe, as a convicted Christian that Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who, because of love, died on the cross to pay for our sins like it was prophesied 700 years before he was born for example in Isaiah 53, as well as in more than 300 other prophecies in the Old Testament of the bible.
So maybe we should change at least a little bit and try to fix on what happened in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. ;)
I completely agree with Keith Sands' opinion. Christmas has changed totally over the years. A lot of people do not even know the reason for celebrating. The worst of Christmas is the consumerism, because the main point of Christmas should be together with your family and having a good time and not the presents or the number of the presents. I hope that the society is changing again so that the family is the most important on Christmas and everyone knows the reason for celebrating especially the kids.