Black Friday and the Commercialization of Christmas

Do you enjoy standing in line in the freezing cold at 4 in the morning to get a deal on some gift you're going to give away at Christmas? Is it that important to give gifts for a holiday that is over commercialized? What is more important to you, the giving of an elaborate or extremely expensive gift or sharing time with those you hold dear? Would you invite someone less fortunate than yourself into your home for a holiday meal and to warm themselves by your fire? Do your children need mindless electronic gifts that cost more than your weekly wage?

The Commercialization of Christmas has turned Americans into ruthless people! Have you been to a sale on Black Friday? I went once. There was NO holiday spirit involved in all the pushing and shoving and snatching things out of other's hands. This is supposed to be the season of love and giving, not pushing and shoving and ripping things from another's hands because it's the last one on the shelf!

Personally I do not participate in the commercialization of Christmas. Our Christmas is filled with gifts that come from the heart, made by hand and given with more love than any store bought gift can possibly imagine. Christmas is a day of sharing time with those we hold dearest to our hearts. We truly celebrate the season filled with love and compassion for others. Our home is filled with the love of family, friends and those less fortunate than ourselves. That is what the season is about, not some store bought gift that is going to take you longer to pay off than the usefulness of the item purchased.

Instead of purchasing extravagant gifts for your family, go to your local thrift store or Salvation Army store and purchase much needed items for those who have nothing to celebrate. Take the initiative and donate your time to a shelter nearby, take your children with you and share the true meaning of Christmas. Giving does not mean from the wallet, but from the heart. That seems to have been lost over the years as companies push all their newest items on you for the holiday season. You cannot turn on a television after Thanksgiving without seeing commercials for Christmas gifts. Jewelry stores rank up there with the most annoying commercials. Diamonds might be forever, but a lifetime of love from your family outshines even the Hope Diamond.

There is no other holiday quite so commercialized because no other holiday is all about the giving of gifts. Christmas has become a way to drain Americans of their hard earned money. Do you see a big deal made over Halloween? No. Do you see a commercials for Thanksgiving sales? No. That's because there's nothing to capitalize on for either of those holidays that is worth the manufacturer's advertising costs! Why do we insist on expending so much money to commemorate this holiday? There was no commercialization of Christmas before large companies came up with the idea. Gifts were given but they were made or purchased with meager funds. Does your child really need a new X-Box or PlayStation or some other mindless means of occupying their time?

Our family celebrates Yule by surrounding ourselves with those we love and those who love us. We spend the day, not stuck in front of the television watching a football game or movies played so many times you know them by heart, but with each other. If it's snowing, we are building snowmen, having a snowball fight or making snow angels. If it's not, we're playing board games and telling stories around the fire of our past so that our children may pass those stories on to their children at some future Christmas gathering. We gather around a large feast at the table and dine until we are almost sick. We laugh and reminisce about days gone by. We tell each other how happy we are to be sharing our time together, unencumbered by wrapping paper and bows and expensive gifts that will be discarded within 3 months. We do not spend the day watching our children play with electronic mind numbing gifts, but playing with our children.

As a mother I am aware that my children don't need expensive trinkets to know how much they are loved. Love isn't shown by what you can buy for your children but what you can give them of yourself. My children know they are loved at the end of Christmas day. They know they have everything they need to live and grow. They don't require mindless toys, but the love they are given every day. To spend a day with their parents, helping prepare the holiday meal, hearing stories of when we were children and receiving a gift made by their parents with their own hands filled with love is what our children will remember when they are older, not that $400.00 PlayStation they played with for 6 months.

When our children look back at Yule they will remember all the love of our family and the time we spent with them and will hopefully pass that down to their children. Wouldn't that be a better legacy to leave behind than all the gifts that are thrown to the wayside after a few short months?

Do you celebrate Christmas by purchasing gifts or is it more about sharing time with those you hold dear? A gift will be forgotten or disposed of within months, if they even liked it to begin with, but a Yule memory can last a lifetime. And keep this in mind, giving comes from the heart, not the wallet. Help those who are truly in need of the Christmas spirit.

Yule Blessings to you all!