And then I ask you what your true meaning of Christmas is?
So it brings me back to the society we live in today how are parents meant to keep up with the extravagant Christmas lists of today and expect old Saint Nick to deliver a PS4 with a 30 inch television, no wonder you have children questioning the magical powers of the man that lives in the North Pole. If it wasn’t for the quick thinking of parents out there I feel like a lot of children would stop believing in Santa clause e.g. Santa/elves are sick, they can’t make a television this year. Unfortunately, it is the society we live in today the computer gaming generation are only getting younger, I would rate myself as a pretty good computer gamer, well I thought I was until I seen my nephew’s play games that I would of played growing up such as subway surfers and it’s only going to get worse where have the times gone that the most enjoyment they would get from the present was from the box it came in such as making forts or using your imagination to turn the box into a racing car. Kids of today are very different from me growing up.
Nowadays I feel the presents we give are used once or twice and forgotten about and I don’t want to be saying bah humbug to Christmas because it does have its positives. It’s a time for family to come together that may have emigrated for work or for whatever reason so it’s a great way for families to sit around their dinner tables and eat their own versions of the amazing Christmas dinner that we all know and love but I still think Christmas is coming round quicker and quicker every year. I was in Aldi the other day on one aisle was a party mix all kitted out in spider webs and bats for Halloween and beside it was advent calendars and chocolate Santa’s and said to myself ‘come on we’ve just finished Halloween’. Do we really, as a society, need to be commercialising Christmas so much. Even today as I was walking around town and I came across a Costa coffee shop, this is just another example of how ridiculous it is getting, where the coffee mugs are all decorticated out in festive Christmas colours with Santa clause on them don’t get me wrong its fine to do that and I understand why they are doing it from a marketing sense but just wait a bit and let November finish we’re only just after starting November I really can’t understand why preparations have started so early. One of the best examples of commercialisation out there today is the Christmas card industry which today is a multi-million dollar industry. The first ever Christmas card dates back to 1843 and was put out by Sir Henry Cole.
The influence of Coca Cola
The influence of premature Christmas music in supermarkets
We have become so indulged in the buying and giving of presents at Christmas that we forget what it is really about. The birth of Jesus Christ is where Christmas originated but as I’ve said it is much more than that, it is about family coming together from all over the world to re-communicate and be together for that one day of the year to be a family again. I just hope that we don’t lose this aspect of Christmas in the future and remember that it is not just about money and presents. Family is the most important thing.
Author: Matthew Eade
Recreation and Sport Management Student