The Business of Christmas

I am old enough to remember when Christmas was primarily a religious holiday. 

I don't remember when it turned into a day of little more than an opportunity to spend and spend and spend in an endless search for "the perfect gift." But a major commercial holiday is what this former religious holiday has become. 

And do you know what? It disgusts me. I'm not a religious fanatic by any means. I haven't set foot inside a church for decades other than as a tourist visiting a landmark church in another country. 

But the mad dash to get our hands on that season's must-have gift, the spending of hundreds and thousands of dollars many of us can't afford to purchase gifts that the recipients may well not want or like, the madhouse at the mall and at the grocery store - - all of these things have combined with my increasing age to turn me against anything Christmas. 

Once my daughter grew up and moved out on her own, I didn't bother to set up a Christmas tree. I stopped mailing out Christmas cards at least 10 years ago. I no longer do holiday baking, something I used to enjoy a great deal. 

I don't put decorations inside the house, or hang up Christmas lights in the living room. And for the past 2 years at least, I have not even listened to my large collection of Christmas CDs. When stores started setting out their Christmas stuff in August, I turned against the holiday.

My siblings and I agreed long ago not to exchange Christmas gifts. All of us have everything we need or want. 

I do buy something for my daughter every year, and if she can't put her finger on anything she wants or needs, I send her money. This year she had an idea of something she wanted - - a Kindle - - so that's what I sent her, along with a case and a charging cord. My grandson will get a large fire truck, as that's what my daughter said he would like. 

I didn't even have to go to the store to get their gifts. I simply went online, ordered the items, and had them shipped to their home in Kansas. My daughter made a batch of one of my favorite kinds of cookies and shipped those to me. And that is fine. I don't bake for myself anymore with rare exceptions, so the homemade cookies were perfect. 

As for the business of Christmas, I just read that Americans spent roughly $102 billion dollars on Black Friday this year. And on Cyber Monday, just 3 days later, Americans set a record and spent some $13.3 billion that day. I also read somewhere that a fair number of Americans is still paying off last year's Christmas bills. 

Somehow I don't think those who originated in the mid fourth century the whole idea of celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus intended for people to bankrupt themselves to buy unnecessary gifts for each other. This is especially true when so many families around the world, not just in the US, are struggling to pay for housing, medical care and food.

Buy something for the kids. But don't be like a woman who used to work for me. She never had extra money, but every Christmas she spent a small fortune on her kids' Christmas. And her daughter, at least, was rather critical of my daughter who didn't get a ton of things for Christmas. Don't get me wrong. My daughter got a lot of Christmas gifts, but not to excess. I never believed that I could buy my daughter's love with an excess of gifts. And my daughter didn't act like a spoiled brat. 

The business of Christmas has, for me, spoiled a nice holiday once rooted in a religious celebration, a time for family and a time to give to those less fortunate. It should not be a time of excess, greed and debt.