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| Myth Of Christmas |
We spend countless hours in the stores trying to get the best bargains on all the presents we can buy. We spend untold dollars to get those expensive electronic gadgets including the electronic games, iphones, ipods, ipads, androids, computers and everything else. No dollar amount is too large and no difficulty too great as we attempt to brave the crowds, use our pepper spray, and trample others in the dash to get what is ours. After all, we must have those gifts.
The news media comes along and fights over who is putting Christ in Christmas and who is not. They declare a war on Christmas and vow that the a segment of our population is taking over the season and pushing us into the dark ages. As this discussion continues, the same news media outlets pad their pockets with advertisement dollars promoting the commercialism of the season they so detest. The viewers of said programs watch and gulp it all down as if nothing else matters.
Next up on the auction block of myth is those company Christmas parties. Most employee stresses about what they will wear, who they will go with and how others will behave. They hope that a bonus or Christmas gift is given that is at least as good as what they got last year, if not better. Yes, it is the time to celebrate and get all you can get while consuming large quantities of alcohol.
Suicide, drinking and partying is at its height during this season full of myths. People suffer through depression and despair as they fight to hold on in life through the pain they have experienced. Some have very little money and feel like a failure in giving their children a proper Christmas as they would say. Some go all out to decorate and transform their house into a magical wonder land of lights, hiding all the sorrows in make believe times and spending money they don't have to spend.
So, is this Christmas? Is this what the media has declared as a war on Christmas? It seems to me that those who feel Christ is no longer in Christmas are the very same people who are out pillaging the stores for every last gift they can buy. Christmas isn't about Christ to these people, although they state his name and make the claim that it is. Christmas is about the ego buying all the expensive gifts it can so their family and friends will truly know they love them.
Before you begin to think I'm stating that all of this is wrong, please let me assure you that I am not. There is nothing wrong with celebrating, buying gifts, decorating or the countless other things that happen during this time. However, each participant needs to wake up and be fully aware of the purpose behind what it is that they are doing. Don't stand on the street corner and preach about a war on Christmas, then head to the store to engage in that which you despise.
Humans are fickle these days in saying one thing and doing another. They justify it in their mind and in the words they speak. Yes, I know that the retail economy of our nation has us convinced that if we do not go out and buy all that the advertisements tell us to, that we have not done enough for our loved ones. Again, please wake up and be fully aware of the purpose behind what it is that you do.
Keep the following image in mind as you go about your mad buying rush during the season. In a few months, the toys that were a must have by children, will be given away or sold in a garage sale for next to nothing. The kittens and puppies that you just had to have will be neglected and unwanted by so many. The electronic gadgets that were a must have become boring and replaced by something better. The clothes that no one really wanted will be sitting in the closet, worn only once and then taken to a local thrift store or put out on a garage sale.
Is this what Christmas is truly about? Can we see how much we indulge ourselves in order to celebrate a season where the true message of the season is completely different than what we tell ourselves and others? Are we so blinded by what we do not want to see, that we fail to fully understand our role in this ego-greed-driven society? Only you, can answer that for yourself and by no means am I the authority on this subject. I just ask that you begin asking yourself some of the tough questions in life. Only then I believe, will you come to understand what Christmas is truly about and not what it is purported to be in the media, advertisements, and news.
Related Blog Posts:
1) Thanksgiving - The Time To Shop For Christmas (Nov 24, 2011)
2) Christmas Music Piano (Nov 3, 2011)
3) Christmas Illusions (Dec 19, 2010)
Blog Post And Images (c) 12/18/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
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