Christmas: Then and Now
Recently my sister has been watching a lot of Little House on the Prairie. The other day a Christmas episode came on, and I noticed how different Christmas used to be. During that time, people were really happy to get one or two presents, and the real treat was spending time with family. Nowadays,
we expect ten or fifteen presents, and family doesn’t enter the picture much. Is this really how Christmas is supposed to be?
Today everything Christmas related comes with a price tag. Decorations, dinner, a plethora of presents, even the tree! It used to be that you would go cut down your tree yourself, as well as make most decorations. The only money was really spent on some dinner supplies and maybe a few presents with what was left over. Of course, money wasn’t as plentiful then, but they still spent less than our equivalent.
Another thing that has changed is the family aspect. That used to be what Christmas was all about. People didn’t really care that much about getting presents. Nowadays, family isn’t the main attraction. Again, it’s what presents you get that are the main attraction. I know in the past I spent all my
time trying out my presents. Talking to myparents or siblings? I kept it to a minimum. Shows how cool I am.
And Christmas is now about getting. I don’t think anyone would admit to it, but that’s kind of what it’s about now. I shop for others because I have to. I open presents for myself because I want to. In a couple cases, I have really wanted to get something for a family member, but not often, although I suppose that’s also part of the nature of being young. But really, how many of you actually want to spend money on your family members?
When you think about it, Christmas is pretty different that the Christmas celebrated by our ancestors. Christmas is a time for you to lose money, gain stuff, and for corporation heads to get rich. I know my accusations are a tad grave, but really, my points are true, to an extent. So are we really happier now that then? I think we are actually less so. If we don’t get what we want, we get disappointed. Back in the old days, People were happy with anything they got, as long as they were with family. Are you?