Not only do these people practically shout at one another as they talk, but they have contemporary Christmas music blaring. That's right, the Bee Gees and Nick Lachey singing your favorite Christmas hits--one butchered tune at a time.
There's nothing wrong with contemporary Christmas music, don't get me wrong. It just reminds me of that catchy term...what was it again? Oh, yeah. CHRISTMASUMERISM.
Definition (if I were publishing my own dictionary): Christmas as celebrated in the United States of America in the 21st Century. The act of excessive spending surrounding the Christian winter holiday. Using Christmas as a profit machine.Hmmm.
Duh. I hear people talking about this concept all the time, about the "commercialization of Christmas," as Charlie Brown put it. I'm not so bothered by the fact that the holiday has strayed so far from it's religious meaning. If we really want to return Christmas to its original habitat, then we need to go into the woods with a bonfire and have an orgy, to celebrate the Winter Solstice on December 21.
No, here are the real reasons the winter spend-a-thon that bothers me. (Yes, yes, we live in a high capitalist society. Some believe the U.S. would not-so-spontaneously combust if people stopped running up their credit card bills.)
- It's nice to receive gifts you like. It's great to see someone's face when they unwrap a gift they love. But the increased amount of acceptable consumerism surrounding each Christmas makes it difficult to compete with the last one. Say I bought you a Christmas present last year for $150. It was super nice--a digital camera, say. This year, I don't have as much money because I bought everyone nice presents last Christmas and had to spend the last 11 months catching up, reimbursing my savings account. So I only have $50 to buy you a nice present. What the hell can I buy you with $50 that's going to be nicer than a digital camera? Although they say, "it's the thought that counts," once you get a standard of expectation going, it's hard not to look like a cheap-ass if you can't keep up with the standard in future years.
- Religious dominance in a country founded on religious tolerance. I've been hyper-sensitive to this idea ever since I dated a Jewish kid in high school. Although children from religions other than Christianity grow up surrounded by the Christmas hullabaloo and understanding that they're not getting presents on Christmas like half their peers, I just wish those getting presents didn't have to rub it in their faces. Why do we call it "Christmas Break", anyway? (And let's not get me started on those people calling this "a Christian nation".) Not everyone is celebrating Christmas. I'm glad a lot of organizations are stepping up and calling it "Winter Break" and "Holiday Party", because those terms are non-denominational--just like winter should be. I'm also happy to see the Chanukah displays in a lot of stores becoming larger and more prominent. It's not the most important holiday in the Jewish religion, so it doesn't need to be a massive thing--but then again, Christmas is also not the most important holiday in the Christian religion...so why does Christmas need to be a massive thing? Point being: give equal play to holidays from different faiths.
- Christmasumerism = excessive spending = credit card debt = not enough money for your children to go to college, and if you're middle class with whopping credit card debt, your kids are screwed becuase FAFSA doesn't care how much debt you have and the kids are getting zilch because--ha, your expected family contribution to their education this year is x-thousand dollars.
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