When my younger brother reminded me today that christmas is a week away, my first thought was "no way". indeed, if you have as poor a sense of time as i do, then let me remind you that christmas is now 5 days away, but of course it would take quite a disorganised mind (such as my own) to forget that the season of giving is soon upon us with all the reminders in newspapers, television ads, and just about any store with half a mind to exploit an annual excuse to sell off outdated merchandise at a cheap price. but can you blame me when they are more eager for christmas to arrive than i am?
nowadays you see ads for christmas-related wares and events all the way in mid-october, and your mind gets so jaded to offerings of "season's greetings" and "yuletide joy" that seeing santa claus and christmas trees soon fails to ring any (sleigh)bells at all. all this advertising and exploitation of what was originally meant to be a celebration of the birth of christ (i hope you guys remember that; it wasnt always about gorging and splurging!) simply cheapens it, in my opinion, to the point where it's disgusting. the "spirit of giving", once a pure and genuine virtue, is now an oft-quoted excuse for you (yes, you!), Generic Consumer Guy/Girl, to get out there, throw some money at the corporate fatcats, and feel a warm fuzzy glow while doing it. even in the act of trying to preserve and promote the original meanings of christmas, someone somewhere out there just has to be laughing his way to the bank.
case in point: how many chirstmas tv specials and christmas movies are there every december, all supposedly spreading the message of christmas while greedily and shamelessly swallowing up the profits while doing so. what really drove this point home for me was when i read the Straits Times review of A Christmas Carol, that animated film with voice acting from Jim Carrey. there was a particular phrase which the reviewer used which struck a chord with me, that parents would most likely bring their kids to watch it out of obligation of having to bring their kids for a christmas-themed event.
christmas is supposed to be a time when people feel obligated to spread love and joy to those around them; to use the term "obligated" for such a material, such a meaningless endeavour, is such a disgrace to christmas itself! and yet, sadly, these words will likely fall on deaf ears, as people become more and more numb to the death of christmas. already it has become common knowledge that during christmas one is obligated to politely attend christmas parties with distant relatives; obligated to thank people for gifts which they will subsequently give away next year; obligated to role-play the christmas spirit in a time when it should come naturally from within. call me a pessimist, but in my honest opinion christmas has died. christmas is long gone, and in its place is a bizzare annual ritual where people pretend that it's christmas but have no idea why they're doing any of the things they're doing.
so go on. come december 25th, go have your dinners and attend your parties and open your presents. i myself have plans on that day. just remember that you are not doing those things because it's the 25th of december and you do this every year, but because it's christmas day and it's something you do to commemorate it. then you can have your very own christmas, impervious to the death of christmas everywhere else.
