Why is it that as soon as October ends, every single department store takes that to mean it’s Christmas?
Christmas is one of the most globally known holidays out there. Even if you don’t celebrate it, chances are you know what happens during the holiday and why it’s celebrated by others no matter where you come from.
Christmas can be celebrated in various ways, for example, coming from a Latin family, our celebrations were more on the evening of the 24th until midnight, where an uncle or dad with a deep voice would turn off the lights, do the “Santa” voice and magically our presents would appear.
It’s a time to be with family and friends, even if the religious connotations of the holiday aren’t really your focus, you can still enjoy it with the people you care about.
With that said, yes, it’s great, yes it’s fun, but no holiday gets the amount of recognition and anticipation in Western culture that Christmas does.
Why are department stores so eager to get the sales going and the decorations popping?
Money. The holiday season is sale season and every business big or small will try its best to capitalize and profit off of Christmas shoppers—the malls start with the Christmas songs, Santa makes an appearance, Starbucks gets those “seasonal drinks” going, etc.
The result?
We lose the spirit of what we’re meant to be celebrating, and it becomes all about the gifts. It’s almost like we’re all trying to “out-gift” each other every year. And that’s not what Christmas is about.
My mom once said, the best gifts are those from the heart, and I believe that to be true. Why spend so much on gifts? Instead of focusing on enjoying time with people that you don’t often get to see every other day of the year.
So this holiday season, I invite you to think about what celebrating the holidays is all about: family. Whether chosen or blood-related, the people we celebrate with are often those that matter the most in our lives. They are the ones who make this season worth it.
And please, stop it with the Christmas music specials already! There are only so many times one can listen to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.