Post-Holiday Commentary—Comparing 2005/2006 to 2007

2005/2006: As you all know, I’m Atheist, so I sat on the sidelines and watched the annual spectacle unfold around me. Unfold it did, and in big, new ways.

If Jesus is the reason for the season as many say, then how on earth did a baby shower get so out-of-control? Frankincense and myrrh would have never made it this year—not even as stocking stuffers!

The lunacy involving the trees and household decorations came awhile back with the entrance of Martha Stewart. From there, it went high-tech and Hollywood: outdoor lights covering every single square inch of property, in varying colors set to the beat of loud music; front lawns covered in holiday-colored props ranging from Santa and his sleigh to full-blown mockups of Santa’s workshop, complete with elves, toys, and other assorted characters; Santa portrayed as Elvis, the Grinch, a Hell’s Angel biker, an Oscar celebrity, and a robot; and gifts ranging from the simple plastic gift card all the way to cars, diamonds, fur, and plasma screen TVs that can’t fit through the front door!

2007: Not so much lunacy for trees and household décor (probably because of the writer’s strike), but the outside still got set to music via a computer software program, and one man even has his own Santa radio station that allowed you to hear his display music on your car radio. This year, there weren’t so many of these spectacles to observe—it seemed more older folks with smaller households were largely responsible for the music-timed extravaganzas, and not many younger families were involved this time. Instead of plasma TVs, the electronic must-have this year was the Nintendo Wii—it’s nice to see that even our electronic wants are finally getting smaller, with the popularity of navigation systems, all-in-one phones, and digital cameras.

2005/2006: It seems the shopping craziness this year has been detoured toward the decorating craziness, with neighbor outdoing neighbor, and whole blocks competing for attention—some even charging admission to see their displays. There was a mock-up of Hollywood and Oscar night, a mock-up of the North Pole, a mock-up of the Las Vegas strip, and a mock-up of the Trump Towers—all with Santa in the shot somewhere.

Has anyone stopped and though about the monumental amounts of energy wasted on such frivolousness, and for what? As time-consuming as it all was to build and put up, it all has to come right back down, and be stored somewhere…and then comes that dreaded electric bill.

2007: I guess the party went elsewhere—people this year tend to be more conscious of the energy bill, the energy waste, and the decadence. Some people did have the forethought to use LED lights and solar-and-battery-powered displays, but this will probably be a dying trend altogether. The ostentation, the overall cost, plus the maintenance will be too much for many of us. I’m sure the weather in the mid-west had a lot to do with it as well.

2005/2006: It’s getting to be as bad as the 4th of July fireworks each year—more and more, better and better. Where does it all end? When can we say we’ve had enough?

Unfortunately, someone found the cord and plugged the Christmas Machine back in—probably a Boomer with more dollars than sense.

Can anyone venture a guess as to how much it cost for one guy to have a separate power transformer box mounted in his yard just so he could put out his VERY ostentatious display each year? Someone actually did this, and the thought makes me sick.

2007: What can I say? No job = no money to be hideously ostentatious at holiday time. Bad weather may have been a contributing factor. The lack of imagination-whetting TV shows (due to the writer’s strike) may have been another factor.

2005/2006: As if the OUTSIDE lunacy wasn’t enough, we still carry on the lunacy INSIDE with trees decorated ala Martha, presents wrapped and decorated ala Martha, and tables draped and laden ala Martha, Rachel Ray, or the HGTV “Decorating for the Holidays” show. The “baby shower” origins have been twisted and disposed of completely in the name of retail free-for-all, in hopes that merchants can wring a little black ink out for the year.

What else makes me sick is the thought of miles of colorful wrapping paper, coupled with miles of ribbons and tape, all going into the trash—but not until they’re removed from presents under the tree. It’s true, and it’s pathetic, but then someone very wisely designed the reusable gift bag. Someday, more of us will catch onto the reusable GIFT.

Someday, the dumpster in my apartment complex won’t be overflowing with crumpled and torn gift wrap, discarded trees, and large intact boxes every December 25th. Someday, parents around here will catch on to the fact that newly-gotten toys break after a week of playing with them, or worse—sink to the bottom of the toy box, forgotten, in favor of the neighbor kid’s new Nintendo Wii (which will also succumb to rough-housing).

Recently, another type of problem cropped up: where to put the new kiddie bikes. These are small apartments with no extra storage space—obviously, someone didn’t do a whole lot of planning when it came to gifts and the kids. Now, kids leave bikes out in front of their buildings, running the risk of theft or confiscation. Everyone’s rental agreement says that “anything not landscaping- or building-related gets picked up and taken away.” This means THROWN AWAY in the dumpster and money wasted yet again.

2007: Now we’re wrapping presents with reusable scrap cloth and ribbon, reusable mylar sheets, and colored cellophane, not to mention boxes that are themselves decorative. Gift bags are still a mainstay for the reuse-it crowd, but ribbon and bows have come back to the make-it-yourself days of the 70’s. Maybe someday, little bags of 9-bean soup mix and bars of homemade soap will once again become suitable stocking stuffers (if they haven’t already).

I noticed a lot fewer shows on TV pushing over-the-top holiday festivities (thanks to the writer’s strike), and those that WERE pushing were advocating a saner and mellower holiday. Paper trash seems quite a bit less this year, and (so far) only one tree made it into the dumpster—this time, it was mostly cardboard boxes, box innards, and trash bags full of paper plates that once held Christmas dinner. Overflowing it was not. One family got a wide-screen TV.

Parents around here seemed to have gotten the message about appropriate toys for an apartment with no extra storage—no new bikes, skates, or scooters visible this year, and since the Wii is still under-produced for the demand, and toy recall warnings abound, I imagine a lot of kids got books, board games, portable electronics, and back-to-basics toys like Legos, Lincoln Logs, and Tinker Toys. Clothes and school items were probably the mainstays this time.

A few TV personalities’ gift advice this year was savings bonds instead of toys. I doubt anybody here made that choice.

2005/2006: Instead of carrying all this nonsense to higher and higher heights, shouldn’t we get back to the roots of the day by honoring and gifting local babies born on Christmas Day of each year? The money we spend (or throw away) now could go a long way in helping a newborn’s college fund, or insuring a new family’s good start in life—or even help out a soon-to-be-harried mother. This, I think, would be a more sensible way to honor the birth of Jesus (or anyone else) instead of the holiday insanity we have now.

Would Jesus (or anybody else) approve of this “paying it forward” plan? I think so, especially when compared to what we do NOW. So many people complain of not having enough, yet everyone seems to have enough to throw away (in so many ways) on this spectacle of a holiday. There are many such spectacles in our calendar.

2007: What a difference a year or two makes! Take away the money, and you take away the lunacy, or so it would seem. People are fearful about what the next year will bring, and dreading what this year may have already brought them. Along with the economic downturn, we are downturning as well—to more rational thinking and spending, and getting back to basics slowly but surely. It’s about time.

2005/2006: I’d like to propose a new way to celebrate “Christmas”: plant a tree, give a gift to a local newborn or its family, and have a buffet instead of a Martha-style feast. On second thought, we’d find ways to spin THAT way out of control too.

2007: More and more people are choosing not to observe the holidays (like I do), but it’s not for religious or anti-religious grounds—rather, it’s a silent protest of the unending commercialism escalation. Another way some people are choosing to protest is by giving back—volunteering in church kitchens, shelters, retirement homes, soup kitchens, and at recent disaster areas like New Orleans, Banda Ache, and others—some people even give blood as an alternative. A new trend: a small handful of families are escaping entirely by spending their holidays at resorts in countries that don’t celebrate Christmas.
I guess I’ll just go back to long-range observation. I can hardly wait to see what new boundaries New Year’s has to bring--then there’s Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter…the list goes on, and I’ll be watching. As it is, Halloween is shaping up to be the new Christmas as far as commercialism and spending lunacy goes.

Pray with me for another writer’s strike and bad weather for next year, so we can get back to the true meaning of Christmas.