It starts a few days after Labor Day weekend. The stores begin to gradually fill shelves with Christmas stuff. Toy departments start their subtle swelling. Decorations and knick-knacks find their way into the home décor areas. And my level of disdain for marketing types who use Christmas as the ultimate sales tool rises accordingly.
But as the autumn progresses my cynicism abates as I enjoy seasonal changes. Disdain shifts to chores like yard clean-up and firewood preparations. Then Halloween comes along and the marketing efforts associated with Christmas kick into high gear. Decorations are all over the place. Advertisers ram the “beat the holiday rush” message down our throats. Christmas music leaks out of tinny speakers everywhere, from home improvement stores to little lingerie shops. And once again I’m convinced that Christmas is nothing more than a shameless marketing ploy and it has been for a very long time.
As I ponder the phenomenon I see how Christmas selling has intensified as mass marketing has developed over the past fifty or sixty years. Television was the beginning. As TV networks grew so did the Christmas push. Holiday programs were produced and advertisers signed on as sponsors. We all know the shows. The Charlie Brown cartoon, Rudolph and Frosty and the Grinch and on and on began in the Cold War years and have returned every year since. My cynical nature says that these programs are only around to sell the latest toys and games. Whatever message they may hold is superseded by the crap they promote. And really, are those programs any good?
Then along came the internet. And with the internet there arrived a whole new level of mass marketing. Advertising that runs every single time we search for information pops up incessantly. If you’re looking for the symptoms of psoriasis you first must endure an ad for the new Nurse Barbie play set. If you want the latest statistics on sorghum production, you’ll get ads for toy John Deere tractors. But it’s not only there that advertisers make their pitches. Even the so called news media gets involved. Have you noticed how Black Friday sale advertising is “leaked” to the news media? They play along with the game. Stories are planted about anticipated sales, new toys on the market, Hollywood holiday film releases and buying trends. It’s all treated as real news. And it’s all tied to the Christmas season and it’s all selling something.
By Thanksgiving weekend I’m in full cynic mode. I hate the very idea of Christmas. Commercialism has displaced and destroyed whatever inherent good Christmas had in years past. Even philanthropic efforts associated with the season seem to have been hijacked by commercialism. In fact the fund raising outfits are often raking off more of the donations for administrative costs and advertising than they are giving to their cause. It’s only more food to fuel the cynical fires.
But then about two weeks before the big day I talk to my grandkids. I see the excitement in them as we decorate the house and set up the Nativity display. We talk about the animals and the Wise Men and, yes, even Jesus. We talk about gifts and traditions and how so many non-Christian ideas have been assimilated into our overall Christmas heritage. Later I hear some folks from the local Mennonite Community singing carols in the mall. Then one afternoon as I’m walking near the library a homeless guy sitting on a bench tells a passing mother with an infant in a stroller that she has a beautiful child and he adds “Please, please love your children and Merry Christmas to you.” He wasn’t looking for a handout, he was saying something important.
So my cynicism slackens. In fact it fades away almost completely. I still get irritated with the commercial push. But I see that the message is still alive. The pure love of children for parents and parents for children is one sign. The kindnesses that are done without expectation of reward are another sign. The welling up of human decency is still another. Even when the most evil things occur there is a rising of immense goodness that inexorably follows. It happens over and over again.
Once again Christmas has beaten the cynic. And that’s a good thing. Merry Christmas to all of you good people.
Now go on and have a fine New Year.
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