Well, Walter, the DFW Chapter of Apostates is having a big ol' Christmas party December 12-14 here in Dallas, so come on down!
Nina
The Over-Commercialization of Christmas
by SanFranciscoJim 22 Replies latest jw friends
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iiz2cool
Thanks cruzanheart! Wish I could, but I get no time off work before Christmas!
Walter
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Mutz
I was watching the local news on TV Thursday evening when I saw a report about a Christmas parade in a shopping centre with Reindeer and a Santa. :p
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Yerusalyim
SFJim,
The economy sucks??? Wow, so all these economists that say the economy is growing are wrong? The fact that in the third quarter of the year the Economy grew by 8%, more than ever under Clinton, show the economy sucks? WOW!
Jim, this happens EVERY YEAR. I'm 39, when I was a kid the stores put out their Christmas stuff on 1 November, and the TV commercials started even before Halloween.
Yes, it's a shame Christmas is such a commerical holiday, but to wrap your personal political agenda (the economy sucks[which is, by the way, incorrect]) into a post about the commercialization of Christmas, which has been going on for more than a century,...well, that's just ridiculous.
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invictus
I am with Cruzanheart on Christmas hype - yes it might be overcommercialized but it is going to be our first Christmas and we all love it- looking for tree and ornaments,thinking how to decorate... it is so much fun.Kids are so exited they would like tree even now - but we agreed on decorating on December 1st; and we`ll keep it till January 13-14 which is Orthodox New Year , so it is going to be decorated almost all winter long!
Invictus
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stillajwexelder
cruzanheart However, since this will be our Very First Christmas, I intend to wallow in all of the songs, ads, etc. Right now I'm shopping for a really good-looking fake tree.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful time --ENJOY
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larc
I think Budweiser and Miller Lite are overly commercialized, but that does not stop me from enjoying the experience. I feel the same way about Christmas. I pay scant attention to the commercials, and do what I want regarding Christmas. The advertisers are wasting their money on me.
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SanFranciscoJim
Yes, it's a shame Christmas is such a commerical holiday, but to wrap your personal political agenda (the economy sucks[which is, by the way, incorrect]) into a post about the commercialization of Christmas, which has been going on for more than a century,...well, that's just ridiculous.
Yeru, It seems to me that you are the one with a political agenda. The point I was trying to make has to do with my disgust for the saturation of the American public with the commercialization of what was once a sacred time of year. There is no question that the negative economic trends in this country have had a lot to do with the over-commercialization of Christmas, considering that it accounts for a large portion of annual retail sales.
But.....since you brought up the subject of political agenda, I will address this: First of all, I don't know where you live, but here in this part of the country, unemployment is soaring. Poverty and desolation are everywhere. Crime is rampant. Every night I sit on my porch and hear gunshots. According to statistics on the website of the new mayor we just elected, in this city, 4,000 out of 34,000 homes are either boarded up or burned out. Property values have crashed. Gangs and drug dealers are everywhere. (Source: http://www.mcmahon.homestead.com/Plan4.html) Things like this do not happen to our cities in a strong, thriving economy.
Before I left the west coast I was in the international shipping industry. My largest customers were high tech firms affected by the economic downturn in Silicon Valley, as well as other collapsing telecommunications and manufacturing firms. My job was to arrange the dismantling of entire factories, moving them overseas to free trade zones (primarily Mexico, Malaysia, and India) where labor is cheaper, and oversee the loading of the ocean containers to be put on various vessels to these destinations. In the past three years alone, I saw tens of thousands of well-paid high-tech people thrown out of work.
Our economy is in serious trouble. It is only going to get worse. Where is Bush's $87 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq going to come from? It certainly won't come from the pockets of the wealthy! Our resources are tapped to the limit. Unemployment figures continue to grow. The current administration shows figures of a reduction in unemployment while new jobs are not added to the employment sector. How is this possible? Simple. More and more people are simply dropping out of the work force altogether. Homelessness is at an all time high, as is crime and drug addiction.
Every premature Christmas advertisement is another twist of the knife in the heart of the heartbroken parents of victims of our faltering economy.
There are going to be a lot of children out there having unhappy Christmases this year.
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waiting
Hey Good Lookin! (Larc)
Was I surrrrrrprised or what to see your post!
I think Budweiser and Miller Lite are overly commercialized, but that does not stop me from enjoying the experience.
Yeah, I've heard that one. And the commercialization of those products is true too.
The advertisers are wasting their money on me.
Say it ain't so! You better be gettin' Zazu a Big Ol' Christmas Tree & doin' all the cookin' for her too! She deserves it....she's married to you. Give Zaz a Big Hug from me! waiting -
SanFranciscoJim
I think Budweiser and Miller Lite are overly commercialized, but that does not stop me from enjoying the experience. I feel the same way about Christmas. I pay scant attention to the commercials, and do what I want regarding Christmas. The advertisers are wasting their money on me.
Good point! I also think that the auto industry is over-commercializing their products. In between the Christmas advertising, I see ads flooding the airwaves for Ford SUVs, Toyotas, etc. to the point where I utilize the "mute" feature on my remote control. You don't see me rushing out to buy a new car every few weeks.
I have a theory: If the auto industry was banned from commercial advertising for one year, I'd wager that the price of cars would drop by one third or more. I usually buy cars that are not advertised heavily. I am paying for transportation, not advertising.