A Christmas Rant.

North America Group.
Week 8: “How Santa Appear All Over the Earth? And What Are the Christmas Traditions?”

A Christmas Rant.

I used to like Christmas a lot when I was younger. I mean, what child wouldn’t? It was almost like another birthday except I wasn’t the only one who got presents. Now that I’ve gotten older though, I’m not the biggest Christmas fan anymore, and it’s not because the Christmas music annoys me…which it does, but that’s beside the point.

The holiday is just too commercial. Something that was supposed to be about celebrating the birth of Jesus really has nothing to do with that anymore. People have even put an “X” in replace of “Christ” in “Christmas,” and that does bother me quite a bit. While the “X” does ring true in the way that the holiday really doesn’t have anything to do with Christ anymore, I really wish that were not the case.

But back to commercialism… People go crazy shopping for Christmas, and those who can’t afford to spend as much as their neighbors get discouraged or wrack up a ridiculous amount of debt just to compete with them or try to keep from feeling guilty. Some stores (a lot of them) even skip over Thanksgiving (a holiday I think should receive more recognition) and start marketing for Christmas at the beginning of November. Then there’s the retailers and all their Black Friday crap. Black Friday, as absurd as it was to begin with, has now gotten even more ridiculous because unlike the name implies, it has actually started happening on Thursday evening (Thanksgiving!) rather than Friday.

It saddens me that I don’t like Christmas that much anymore. I really wish I did. I do enjoy my family at Christmas though. I guess that’s the most important part. We always have fun celebrating. We cook and open presents and enjoy each other’s’ company. Maybe that’s all that really matters. But still, I wish that the holiday was less commercial.

By Shadow, United States of America
20 years old

Christmas.

“Christmas is an eve to give.” Everyone has heard this at least one time in their lives, but do we really know what it is about? It might sound mainstream, but we don’t have the time to think that maybe there are people who are cold or have nothing for Christmas dinner. Sometimes we just like to forget that. This must be a season of happiness, of good wishes and time for demonstrating the quality of humans we are. I think we should take 10 minutes of our time and give thanks for all we have and do something for people who don’t have the same luck as we do. Let’s remember that a festivity like this can’t just be limited to some, let’s make it every day with everyone who is with us, and keep love, friendship, charity and peace as part of our everyday routine. Like Dr. Seuss said, “Christmas doesn't come from a store, maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more....” We should find this meaning in our lives, and then we can live it the best way we can.

By Fer C., Mexico
19 years old