Something has definitely been lost with the passing of time.
We've hit December and if people aren't already done their shopping, most are franticly running in search of that perfect gift. "Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Have you started? What about baking? WHAT? You haven't started baking yet? Are you going away? You HAVEN'T started shopping yet? Aren't you panicked? Eyeyeye... people REALLY? Is this all that Christmas has come down to?
Stores are jam packed, employees will be stressed to the max by the time Christmas Day rolls around and most of our bank accounts will be in the negative. While it's all great for the retailers, what's happened to us as people? Putting the icing on the cake, if you go online, the internet is riddled with sites to encourage this trend. "What's the matter? Don't like the gift you've received?" With a simple click of the mouse you can go online and exchange it for something more suitable. Forget standing in those frustrating Boxing Day line ups. Not sure what to buy cousin Bessie who has everything and who you haven't seen in 10 years - but - she happens to be coming home for the holiday? Go online there are sites to give you endless lists of possibilities. She may not like these ideas, or she may already have the gift you select, but that's okay, she can trade it in when she gets back home. Yeesh.
I remember back when I was little. Sure there were gifts. But absent was the panic and the mayhem. Each of us kids, there were five, would hang a woolen sock, which instead of Ipods and Mp3 players would be filled with Christmas oranges, candies and simple little treasures we weren't handed everyday. Gifts under the tree were clothing and if we were lucky, that one special item we had been longing for all year long. Christmas was about family, togetherness and making memories. We would put out cookies for Santa, listen to holiday music, snack on special treats and tuck in with the anticipation of what the following morning would bring. These are the thoughts that stay with me today. Not the presents.
Today there seems to be an urgency to get little Johnny everything under the sun and to out do the next person. Squealing with delight on Christmas morning, little Johnny is bored by Boxing Day and already looking for the next "fun fix." It's sad really.
In addition to the religious aspects this upcoming holiday season has to offer, there are many ways to give and to share and they need not all involve the swiping of a credit card. Trust me on that one.
