Hello. If you are reading this, and have a young child/sibling, please give this article some thought. Ask them to list three words to do with Christmas, and if they answer something along the lines of ‘presents, Santa, food’ then please read further.
Have the young truly forgotten what the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas is? There have been enough kid’s films about that sort of thing, but they never quite reach the point. It is about gifts, yes, but also about the generosity and love shown by gift-giving. We, however, are more preoccupied with receiving, not giving. Social media tells us that you must give to be loved. But why can’t you give because you love?
The relentless onslaught of Christmas adverts (which, I must note, seem to start earlier each year) seem to tell us just this. But what they really want you to give is their product, bought at a hefty price. In the 21st Century, it is not about generosity. It is all about making money. It is, perhaps, inevitable given our capitalist society. This has affected us in many ways, some more subtle than others. For example, advent calendars have gradually morphed form idyllic Christmas scenes of snow and robins to creating another opportunity to let more children eat more unhealthy, addictive chocolate.
Christmas is perhaps a Christian celebration about Christian values. But, I find, many of these values have been lost in the ruthless capitalisation of our festive spirit. Christmas has moved from being a celebration of love and gratefulness to becoming a way to sell more; a way to make more money off the masses; a way to make the rich richer. And that, I think, is the true meaning of Christmas today.
