Sometimes I wonder why Christmas is still so very popular. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the festive vibe. It is great finding an excuse to get together with friends and family and share a laugh (or a drink).
But fewer people are religious these days.
In the UK Census of 2021, only 46 percent of citizens said they were Christian, and many of these were loosely so (not actually actively doing anything about it). 37 percent said they belonged to no religion at all.
Yet Christmas stays significant and hugely popular.
I just hope it is for the right reasons.
Are We Obsessed With Presents?
For me, Christmas is a tradition. A wonderful winter time tradition. Sadly the wintry aspect has fizzled away, as we rarely get snow in England these days and certainly not during the Christmas break.
But when I speak to my students, Christmas is mainly about presents; Being given nice presents.
When I dig down and ask about why they celebrate Christmas, present receiving is the main reason. This is fair enough for children but many adults are the same.
I recently asked five different friends why they celebrate Christmas and they all said it is about the present giving. They were busy fulfilling shopping lists and worrying about getting those particular gifts that were expensive and difficult to get hold of.
To add to this, many of the people I spoke to who said they were Christian knew very little about Christianity.
One of the reasons several people gave was that they were Christened when they were a baby.
They had never been to a church since, other than for weddings and funerals.
Anyway, you must get what I am saying by now.
Christmas is about consumerism first and foremost. That is the reality of modern Britain.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with that but I just wish I could rekindle the festive spirit and get people to care more about being charitable and sharing experiences with people at Christmas time.
And Finally
At Christmas time retail industries make their most profit. They often hike up prices to make the most of the consumerism associated with Christmas.
Whether this is a good or bad thing, you can be the judge. It certainly seems to have moved away from community spirit and celebrating Jesus’ birth and more towards, ‘How big will my present be?’
What are your thoughts on this matter?
Has Christmas become mainly about buying presents and greedy recipients?
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Have a lovely Christmas! It is my favourite time.
I think it very much depends. I love the anticipation, the festive spirit and getting together with family. Although it’s a working day on the farm, they do have some time off for us to all together. As a child my mum used to drag us to midnight mass, and I’ve been a couple of times as an adult – I love to sing the carols. But it’s just another thing to add to what’s already a busy day, and isn’t as sociable going as it used to be where we knew so many people who went.
I agree that our priorities are out of sync when it comes to Christmas. I’m a practising Catholic so the religious aspect of Christmas matters to me, although it’s easy to let it overshadowed by everything else. In recent years, I’ve worked hard to simplify Christmas and reduce gift giving. It’s still a work in progress.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones, Jamie!
Yes I see. It sounds like you do plenty though.
Thank you. I hope you have a lovely festive season. I will be writing about present packaging very soon for our group.
Thanks Jamie. I look forward to reading that.
Thank you! 🎄⛄️
One historical documentary I’ve watched had someone comment that we need a balance of both, something along the lines of without the religion there’d be no holiday but without the secular side it wouldn’t be as festive. Still, though, I agree it feels that the scales have been tipped to the latter, creating an imbalance.
I love Christmas but when people/ children are demanding expensive gifts it loses its buzz.
Christmas is definitely way too commercial. I can do without all the presents and other materialistic things and just spend time with the family.
Exactly.