Why I hate "Giftmas"
A few days ago, I wrote a post in which I described how the Christmas holiday was more a construct of culture than scripture. If you, like me, practice the Christian faith, then the day is a time to celebrate Christ's Nativity. However, everybody, regardless of religious affiliation (or lack thereof), can celebrate Christmas for its cultural meaning.
What is the cultural meaning of Christmas?
The holiday season starts around the time that calanders flip from November to December. In America, it is during this time that we celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving, when we are urged to remember those things in life we should be thankful for and to remind ourselves that there are many, at home and abroad, who do not enjoy the same blessings. During this time, Haunukhah comes and goes; it is a reminder of how, even in the midst of scarcity, God can still miraculously provide. The weeklong celebration of Kwanzaa, another holiday constructed from culture, is dedicated to the practice of cultural ideals. The holidays continue even after Christmas is over. In Canada and other countries, December 26th is Boxing Day, when people have been known to "regift" items to those less fortunate.
The cultural meaning of Christmas is the same as the cultural meaning of the holiday season itself: Peace on Earth and goodwill toward mankind. (At least, the desire for peace on Earth. It's been on my wish list for years...)
All the days observed above point toward what M. Scott Peck called "cathexis" with human society. Christmas itself is dedicated to a man - a prophet - whose teachings were all about cathexis with humanity. (The Sermon on the Mount, in the Gospel of Matthew, was the pinacle of this, I think.)
The advent of "Giftmas"
Somewhere along the way, things changed. This isn't a new complaint. People have been saying for the better part of a century how Christmas has become too commercialized. (In North America, consumer culture as we know it was born in the years following World War I.)
But I really hate all the places on the internet (LiveJournal, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) where people are anxiously awaiting "Giftmas." The name itself says it all, doesn't it? The name says, "I anxiously await the day where other people will give me more material possessions!"
Instead of expressing the desire for peace on Earth, we expound the values of overconsumptive consumerism run amok.
Instead of extending goodwill toward mankind, we sanctify gimme-gimme greed.
And it's wrong.
What really matters?
Now, I know what some people will say. Those fashionably cynical emo bloggers will tell me that my notion of the meaning of Christmas is both outdated and pointless. Harboring goodwill, offering of yourself to others, and dedication to something greater than yourself serves no purpose because the world is bleak and dark and depressing, yadda yadda yadda (but retail therapy makes the pain go away).
Gimme-gimme greed arises from this. People try to fill emotional holes or bolster their stunted growth with stuff (belongings). It never works, though. Such people focus on what they can get rather than "cathecting to humanity" in any reasonable way. They are in need of their own personal Jacob Marley to remind them "Humanity is your business!"
Indeed, humanity is the business of us all. The Christmas season reminds us all of this, but "Giftmas" does exactly the opposite.