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Only Twenty Seven Shopping Days Left!
November 28, 2003, 4:07 p.m. I have a strange relationship with Christmas. It’s a love-hate thing. Sometimes, I look upon it with dread and a sense of impending doom: like so many off-course-asteroid-apocalyptic-plague movies, there’s no getting away from it, and your only hope of survival is in how you deal with it. But on the other hand, I simply adore it, and throw myself whole-heartedly into the gift-giving, card-buying, present-wrapping bonanza that is modern-day Christmas. I prefer our modern, commercialised Christmas. True, it’s got its drawbacks. I get a cold feeling of horror and disgust in the pit of my stomach when I see tinsel going on sale in September. But a commercialised Christmas removes Christmas from its Christian origins. And while Christians may decry this, I fully endorse it. A commercialised Christmas is a Christmas for all people, of all races, cultures and religions. Christmas was originally intended to celebrate the birth of Christ, God’s gift to the world. Commercialised Christmas just celebrates the spirit of giving. And I see nothing wrong with that. I love giving gifts. I love searching out the perfect one for people I care about. I see gifts as a representation of how much I love my friends. Not in any I-spent-in-the-triple-digits-on-you-so-I-must-love-you-more-than-life-itself sense, but more in an I-put-a-lot-of-thought-and-effort-into-finding-a-gift-for-you-that-I-think-you-would-love sense, and an I-have-listened-to-you-and-gotten-to-know-you sense. These gifts are even better when they’re handmade. Giving isn’t just in a material sense, but in an emotional sense. For a lot of people, Christmas is the time you spend with your family and other loved ones. Sure, this can be stressful, but it’s also helpful to remind yourself that there are people out there that do care about you. If I could, I’d change this holiday’s name to something else, other than Christmas, but I don’t think that’s really possible. So I content myself with buying charity cards that say ‘Seasons Greetings’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’ (it does seem that most religions and cultures have a celebration around this time – Ramadan, Kwanza, Hanukkah etc), and hope I can at least spread the message of a season of giving amongst those I know : )
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