Christmas and Commercialization: My Meagre Attempt to Disconnect
The commercialization of Christmas and the holiday (etymologically associated as holiday derives from Holy Day) associated with gift giving has diluted “real” message of Christmas. This has been discussed and debated over and over and I’m not going to attempt to add anything new to that particular discussion. However, for my family, for the last two years have been trying something new. Which we hope is a way to further the disconnect between the two, i.e., the commercial/gift exchange and celebration and remembrance of the Nativity of Jesus.
The figure of Santa Claus derives from Saint Nicholas of Myra and based on this we’ve made a slight change. The feast day for St. Nicholas is December 6 … which is quite close to the Christmas break. Thus we’ve made the decision that for our family we now have been (and will) exchange gifts on December 6 (technically after evening Vespers on the 5th), not on December 25. Thus on the 24th and 25th the “special” things we do is that we attend the Nativity services (and end the Nativity fast). Thus the anticipation of “stuff” that kids (of any age?) associate with the gift exchange has been (and is) disconnected with the Nativity which is then rightly and more easily focused on Christ and the Church.
So to bastardize Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals, if we universalized that practice … do you think that would that help? Is this a good way to disassociate the commercial and worldly aspects of the Nativity from the Sacred? Is/was this move a good idea? I welcome thoughts and opinions on this little switch.
Filed under: Christianity • Mark O. • Religion
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My wife and I contemplated doing that, as well, with our family. It seems, though, that we’re fighting a behemoth in the sense of essentially everyone else working off of gift opening on Christmas morning. Our kids get a small gift on Nicholas Day, and we discuss the Christian aspects of the legend of Santa Claus. We’ll focus, on Christmas Eve, on the Advent of the Christ-child. Prior to gift-opening on Christmas morning, we place a baby-Jesus or a Nativity Jesus in a manger, thereby reinforcing the meaning of the morning.
As to universalizing the Nicholas Day practice, I think it would help take away the worldly aspect of Dec. 25th (yet essentially moving it to Dec. 6th). Christmas Day would take on a more religiously motivated role as Resurrection Day does.
I’d be interested in how that turns out for you. It seems so many years my family started out with good intentions but just got caught up with the hustle and bustle and all the negative emotions that can come with that.
This year, besides the daily devotions we have been pretty faithful to follow, we decided to give the family a membership to the Y, instead of lots of separate gifts. Not everyone has been as enthusiastic about it as I and my husband, but it sure took the fuel from the fired up shopping frenzy that seems to hit us halfway through December.
I think the idea of disconnecting the commercial plug is the key- so I’m hoping your experiment works well. (And if not, live and learn…there is always next year and maybe we will all have laughs about our Charlie Brown Christmas)