It's Begining to Look a Lot Like Christmas ...

I have refused to listen to Christmas music, watch Christmas movies, decorate with Christmas reds and greens, and have barely looked at the Christmas paraphernalia that has crowded stores since before Halloween.  I'm a holiday purist.  Thanksgiving should be properly celebrated before Christmas and all it's trappings are ushered in.

For the last few years, this has not been a problem.  I live in a city that does Christmas very, very well.  Festive Christmas markets open the first week of Advent.  More time is spent meeting friends for hot punch than buying gadgets.  There are no Black Friday sales.  Stores are closed on Sunday's.  Christmas is about a season not maxing out credit cards.

I am shocked, quite frankly, at the way my own country does Christmas.  No longer are we content to stand in line at the crack of dawn for door buster sales the day after Thanksgiving.  No, now we must end Thanksgiving feasts early to catch those deals that could start riots and have killed innocent workers by frenzied shoppers.  And, to make matters worse, we continue making the rounds of all night retail stores pawning their wares for materialistic buyers.  Where will this end?

I'm not going to give into the culture in which I am spending this Christmas season!  I will hide Christmas in my heart!  I will ignore email alerts to the next all night sale!  I will stick to our family tradition of not buying gifts but sharing memories.  I will!  I will!  I will!!

But, it's hard!!  In principle I think this is all too much, until I see the price of something I think I can't live without and then consider loosing a nights sleep because sleep is really over rated and what harm would it do if I participated in this cultural ritual that is snowballing toward ultra-materialism?  See what I mean?

Decision making must be decided before one sees the sales, hears of the "good deals" or watches the tear-jerking commercials targeted at saps like me who think this one product will bring Holiday cheer for me and my loved ones for years to come.  Just say no.  Just say no to the commercial black hole that has become an accepted practice of good Americans everywhere.  Don't get sucked into the thinking that this thing or that will be what makes this year better than all previous years.  It's all just stuff.

I could go on and on ... but I won't.  Just say no.  Keep it simple.  Invest in things that will last.  

Ranting and raving a bit,
Christina