2008 Woodie Awards
Commentary
Christmas time is hectic time
Jim Elliott
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Opinion
Originally published: 11/30/07 at 4:48 PM EST
Last update: 11/30/07 at 4:47 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
Late in the evening of Thanksgiving Day, after all the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes had been eaten and all the football games were over, the nation heaved a contented sigh and slipped into a tryptophan-induced dream.
But then, at the stroke of midnight, with a flash of Christmas spirit and a thunderclap of consumer anxiety, the Christmas season burst upon America once again. The resounding boom of the season's kickoff rolled across America and left an ominous, pine-tree scented silence in its wake. The silence did not last long, however.
As early as 2 a.m. on Friday Nov. 23, hundreds-of-thousands of ambitious Christmas shoppers all over America rolled out of bed and flocked to department stores in search of that special gift for that special someone. At many stores there were lines out the door by 4 a.m.
I know these things for fact because I overheard several family members at Thanksgiving dinner discussing their plans to wake up at 2 a.m. and participate in the Christmas shopping blitz. I couldn't believe people actually did that.
Doesn't this strike anyone else as crazy? Why do we as a nation subject ourselves to this fevered, stressful and not to mention increasingly prolonged period of shopping every year? I think advertising has a lot to do with it.
This year it seemed as if many stores had Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween! I don't know whether this Christmas advertising bombardment has always been so large in scope or whether I haven't noticed it in years past, but this year I felt as if the Christmas holiday had begun to eclipse Thanksgiving.
And then came Black Friday. I made the mistake of going to the grocery store that day. As I walked in through doors laden with Christmas decorations, I heard a Christmas song playing on the overhead speakers, and then another, and another… and another and I thought to myself: "Already?"
This relentless kind of advertising is destroying what Christmas is all about by bludgeoning us from all sides with barrages of Christmas movies, TV shows, music, etc. These advertisements tend to leave us either whipped into anxious frenzy as we rush to buy Christmas cheer, made to feel guilty and sad because we can't provide an extravagant Christmas for our loved ones or just sick to death of Christmas.
These feelings could not be more contrary to the intended spirit of Christmas. So how long are we going to allow that spirit to be sullied by what Christmas has become: a quest for presents? Or maybe the more appropriate question would be: How long can it possibly go on like this?
But then, at the stroke of midnight, with a flash of Christmas spirit and a thunderclap of consumer anxiety, the Christmas season burst upon America once again. The resounding boom of the season's kickoff rolled across America and left an ominous, pine-tree scented silence in its wake. The silence did not last long, however.
As early as 2 a.m. on Friday Nov. 23, hundreds-of-thousands of ambitious Christmas shoppers all over America rolled out of bed and flocked to department stores in search of that special gift for that special someone. At many stores there were lines out the door by 4 a.m.
I know these things for fact because I overheard several family members at Thanksgiving dinner discussing their plans to wake up at 2 a.m. and participate in the Christmas shopping blitz. I couldn't believe people actually did that.
Doesn't this strike anyone else as crazy? Why do we as a nation subject ourselves to this fevered, stressful and not to mention increasingly prolonged period of shopping every year? I think advertising has a lot to do with it.
This year it seemed as if many stores had Christmas decorations up the day after Halloween! I don't know whether this Christmas advertising bombardment has always been so large in scope or whether I haven't noticed it in years past, but this year I felt as if the Christmas holiday had begun to eclipse Thanksgiving.
And then came Black Friday. I made the mistake of going to the grocery store that day. As I walked in through doors laden with Christmas decorations, I heard a Christmas song playing on the overhead speakers, and then another, and another… and another and I thought to myself: "Already?"
This relentless kind of advertising is destroying what Christmas is all about by bludgeoning us from all sides with barrages of Christmas movies, TV shows, music, etc. These advertisements tend to leave us either whipped into anxious frenzy as we rush to buy Christmas cheer, made to feel guilty and sad because we can't provide an extravagant Christmas for our loved ones or just sick to death of Christmas.
These feelings could not be more contrary to the intended spirit of Christmas. So how long are we going to allow that spirit to be sullied by what Christmas has become: a quest for presents? Or maybe the more appropriate question would be: How long can it possibly go on like this?
Be the first to comment on this story