1st December and the countdown to Christmas begins! Advent calenders, Christmas lights, mince pies and mistletoe. But where is the real spirit of Christmas? Has Christmas turned into simply another reason for shops to make money, so commercialised that we now have forgotten the reason it started in the first place? At home the Christmas lights have been up (and on) since November, and the shop windows filled with tinsel and lights, not to mention the latest 'bargain' buys for the holiday season, whether it be decorations, toys and gifts, trees or festive food. What happened to the Christmas feeling, where family and friends gather and exchange stories and laughter, not gifts, and talked about the past year and the hopes for the new year? Is this disappearing simply due to the commercial value of Christmas nowadays, the fact that the shops seem to have taken over us at this and many other times of year?
When I heard in our Christmas lecture about the mayhem of Black Friday in America, where a shop assisstant was killed in the stampede of customers rushing to get the best bargain for their christmas shopping, I couldn't help but think: is this really what has become of christmas spirit?
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