Monday, December 8, 2008
This holiday season...
With Christmas rapidly approaching, I'm wondering how the economic downturn is impacting everyone's holiday traditions. What is going to be different this year compared to last year? Many of my friends aren't traveling this Christmas because the costs are too high, and the money could go towards other things, like medical bills. I am donating plasma in order to get some extra cash to buy presents for my family, and a lot of people are ceasing to buy presents altogether. Is this Christmas going to be more spiritual than material? I think so. I think there's going to be more of an emphasis on spending time with family, and not "what did you get for me?" Also, I think that the roots of Christmas are going to be more evident, in that we are all very fortunate and should be thankful for what we've been blessed with. So even with the credit crunch and downfall of the U.S. economy, what is it about Christmas that is going to be special to you?
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3 comments:
I'm definitely feeling the crunch. I'm buying less presents and I know that I'll be receiving less presents. My sister and her family can't come visit from England this year :( but even taking those things into consideration, I really don't think that this Christmas will be any less special. Not being able to go out shopping and go out for holiday dinners brings me back to the true meaning of Christmas, I know it sounds a little cliche` but sometimes life is a little cliche` lol
Instead of going out shopping I'll watch Christmas movies and instead of going out to eat I'll read the Christmas story in the bible.
Maybe this credit crunch is what this country needed to bring us around to what Christmas is really about?
It almost seems like people are being more charitable because they have less, I think they realize that at the moment they may not have very much but there are people out there who have even less.
In the end, Christmas isn't really about the presents, it's about celebrating the birth of Jesus and I think that with some of the flashy things out of they way it's easier to see that.
I think that the economic crunch is getting to everyone! My mom was telling me about people freaking out at Toys R US because the employees would ask them if they wanted to apply for a toy credit card. Many people acted as if the Toys R Us workers were utterly stupid for asking them if they wanted to apply for a credit card towards toys, shoppers were utterly rude when all the workers were just doing their job. If you really think about it Christmas is not supposed to be about the gifts, but is supposed to be about spending time with the people that you love. The whole Christmas holiday seems to be a big stress to come up with the coolest gifts for the people you love, when really it should not be that way at all. I say that because I stress a lot during the holidays tying to find thoughtful gifts so I dont have to do the typical here is a giftcard I ran out of ideas and time :). I am mostly looking forward to spending some time with my family and the ones that I love. Its almost like I need a holiday as an excuse to get to spent time with all of my families and the people that I care about.
I believe that Christmas has always been more about other things than the miracle of presents. It really depends on where you place your emphasis. I believe Christmas has a special spirit that one ought tohave year round, but it seems that we save it up for this time of year. Christmas is giving, and not necessarily material item, but of self and sacrifice for others. So although this year may be a bit more tight economically, I think that it is wonderful that we are just getting a little closer to what Christmas is all about.
Dave Warren
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