O Pinions!

Wal*Mass and the Almighty Market: Bah Humbug!

Wal*Mass and the Almighty Market: Bah Humbug!
2008 December 26

If folks are overwhelmed by the commercialism and perversion of Christmas into Wal*Mass, then I have only one powerful word for all-y'all. Learn to say NO.

Cut out or cut back on the insanity (and it is 'insane' as in 'unhealthy') and your children and family may be able to do so too. Quill O' the Owl has written how she has cleaned up after the day; but, I suspect some folks will be doing that for a week and paying for it for months.

There is nothing Biblical about giving gifts on Christmas. Christians know that unless they are sitting in a boat with one oar along the banks of the River of De Nile. Since there is no religious obligation (except to attend church by the devout), there is no reason to feel guilty about not observing a cultural phenomenon gone amok.

The Almighty Market has usurped the Holy Day and will now be called Wal*Mass, a season of overwhelming materialism sanctioned by the secular state and promoted by greed and consumption. If you do not celebrate, or not celebrate enough, you will be coerced and derided for your lack of the Holiday Spirit (the Holy Spirit seems to go on vacation ... get out of my way ... where's aisle 303?). Thou must consume! shall be the Number One Commandment. And thus it has become.

There is hope though ...

As I responded to entry "Invalid Entry"  in the blog of Quill o' the Owl :

I do find the pacing off. Since I don't celebrate Christmas nor do I celebrate Wal*Mass, I am spared some of the insanity.

I really truly wish Christians (a people of faith, followers of the Christ) would celebrate Christmas (a religious celebration of the birth of Christ) with a mass/vigil and maybe three presents on Epiphany (Three Kings Day, January 6th) maybe even go so far as restore January 1st as the Circumcision. I see no problem with the religious aspects and underlying spiritual principles of hope and homage.

I see no problem with a Winter Festival, especially here in the North. A Festival of Lights, a time of visiting family, a time of rest or play after the sowing of Spring and the harvest of Autumn. No problem there either. A Solstice celebration bears no harm. Brightly lit and decorated trees and yule logs burning bring beauty and poetry to the season. Jack Frost may even make an appearance, as might the Snowman. The jolly man in the red suit is known to travel with a sleigh pulled by elk (in Montana we don't have reindeer) and may visit us too.

But Wal*Mass is a materialistic disaster. It combines all the above and denigrates the season into the hysteria of before and the let-down of after. Along with s.a.d. (seasonal affective disorder) it has been known to push people past sanity. The media harps on the reality that the reason of the season is the Almighty Market (clue!). Everything gets skewed in the giving and getting and the extravagant nonsense of it all.

So ... for next year ... some unsolicited advice (for everyone):

1. Say no. Learn to mean it, say it, stick by it. Say NO to whatever overwhelms or doesn't bring peace and love into your family.

2. Keep Christmas as a day of religious celebration. Go to church. Read and meditate on the meaning of the day. Same with Easter ... even more so ...

3. Think of celebrating St. Lucia Day (December 13th), Three Kings Day, Frosty-the-Snowman Day (first sticky wet snowfall good for making snowballs, real real big ones! ) to stretch out the season in smaller morsels.

4. Consider giving gifts on Three Kings Day (make it big, make it special) or limiting the gift giving by amount spent or number of gifts given to put a limit on the hysteria. Refuse to feel obligated to do more than you are capable of.

5. Send out Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn cards to family and friends. Once a season, to lighten up their day. As a writer, make it personal. Since this is once a season, avoid overwhelming yourself on days with other obligations, like Christmas, Easter, Graduation, Wedding, Super Bowl (hey, that's a HOLY day in some households!)

6. Invite family and friends over for winter gatherings without all the hoopla of pretending that it is Christmas. Afterall, you spent Christmas in church right?

Just some thoughts. Wal*Mass is perverse and pervasive. Glad you survived it. Glad the kids believe in Sofa-cushion-forts. There is hope.

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