Sing Noel?

Holiday Celebrations

In theory, a holiday is a special day to celebrate family, friendship, and community. Ideally, we spend quality time with our family and friends, leaving us feeling loved. Holiday celebrations in America include Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. We also celebrate Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day. In fact, this country finds a reason to celebrate almost every month of the year. If we all celebrated simply to be together and have fun, we would not need to exchange gifts. A seemingly pleasant tradition of gift giving has escalated into a materialistic nightmare, as department stores open at dawn, catering to maniacal shoppers, eager to please their loved ones with the latest electronic devices. Consumerism has ruined Christmas, reducing the holiday to opportunistic retailers and media corporations, leaving the unfortunate consumer with a feeling of inadequacy and guilt, causing undue stress. Christmas is no longer a celebration of life and love, and is being used by our materialistic society as a method of brainwashing our citizens to believe that they need to buy something to be worthy of love.

First, this country has a serious problem with the concept of reality. While we make a mad rush to the mall, people in third world countries are running to the well for fresh water. When I get dressed in the morning, I have an entire closet filled with clothes to choose from. We forget that those in poverty may not even have a shirt on their back. So, when the time comes to celebrate Christmas, we can easily forget about true giving. Material possessions are of little importance if one’s family fails to be united in love and honoring one another. Spending time with family is a gift in itself. When the storefronts in America begin displaying Christmas items in early November, the message is one of urgent need to purchase gifts.

Secondly, we are constantly being reminded that we need to buy things to please our families. We can become convinced that we have to get something for someone. Newspapers and television commercials will tell us that our loved ones will only be happy if we get them the most cutting edge item available, like an iphone, listed at $500 retail price. For some, that is equivalent to half of a month’s rent. There is this idea that we all need to have more stuff, and buying things for people will make them happy. If that is true, why do we see so many unhappy people holiday shopping? There are frowns, sweaty brows, and scowls everywhere you look. Children are being scolded for becoming impatient while waiting in a line for an hour. Parents believe this is an unwarranted reaction, although they are about to yell at the person in front of them for taking too long. It is evident that holiday shopping is no longer a pleasant experience, filled with warmth and good cheer. People are filled with a sense of urgency, feeling undue pressure to buy the “perfect” gift for their significant other. On Christmas day, people hope that their gift is good enough for them. The moments spent with each other were lost in the parking lot of Macy’s.

Finally, our society has brainwashed us to believe that something outside of ourselves will give us well being. Gratification by external means only brings temporary relief. The only way to feel better is to give of ourselves. When we can bake sweets, knit a scarf, or simply be present at a family gathering, we can give the most precious gift of all: love. We spend time in traffic or waiting in line, when we could be spending it with our loved ones. We are all worthy of love, whether we show we care through giving a present, or just being there.

In conclusion, the holidays can be a time of warmth and loving gestures. The Christmas season has become too materialistic, causing people to behave in ways contrary to the spirit of the holiday. To preserve the true meaning of Christmas, we need to slow down and spend some quality time with those we love, instead of buying a bunch of stuff. Our country is overly focused on material possessions, and Christmas time is used to reap profits rather than sow love. Consumerism has distorted our vision of gift giving. Celebrating Christmas can be a relaxing, enjoyable experience one shares with family and friends, an opportunity to love and cherish one another.

[This was a composition I wrote for Spanish class...en ingles, y despues espanol.]