Is it Christmas yet? Because if it is Christmas, that means weshould be recuperating from a tough round of finals, or at leastpartying in celebration of the semester’s end.
It must be Christmas, because Starbucks is selling eggnoglattes, the mall will soon be decked in bows of holly, and thelocal grocery stores will have an aisle dedicated solely to yourholiday trimmings.
But wait. Wasn’t it just last Friday that we costumedourselves for Halloween?
Don’t get Ed Board wrong. Many of our members delight inthe holiday season. We love to see it in all its grandeur.Christmas is close to all our hearts, but lately, it seems to comeinto closer proximity with our wallets.
How far can we extend a holiday to create an economicopportunity out of the spirit of giving and good will?
If the holiday trend continues at the present rate of expansion,20 years from now, we might start celebrating the Yuletide sometimearound Labor Day. Celebrate a worker and buy him or her a gift atour special September “Get ready for Christmas”sale.
We’re not sure if celebrating Christmas early is someattempt at efficiency. Let’s just make Thanksgiving andChristmas a two-for-one affair so you don’t have to eat twolarge meals, or buy two airline tickets home for the holidays.
But that glib explanation isn’t realistic because peoplemight actually spend less money. So much of the holiday spirit hasbeen appropriated by retail industries to enhance consumerism andhelp businesses yield higher economic gains. But businessesaren’t to blame. Obviously, the demand is there, or wewouldn’t see the Christmas season start a day earlier eachyear.
Is this what Christmas really boils down to? The increasedshopping and sales certainly doesn’t leave retail workerswith more time off to spend with relatives, family and friends. Butwho cares about actually spending time with the loved ones? If theywant their gifts, there’s some serious shopping to bedone.
A religious, familial and spiritual holiday has garnered strongcapitalistic vibe: the gaudy gold encrusted trimming on a humble,symbolic evergreen. We need to rethink our holiday priorities, butin the meantime, everyone have a very Capital Christmas.
