The benefits of christmas

[Traveller13]

Christmas.
A day where people celebrate the joy of being with their loved ones.
A day where this celebration is massively canalised by commercial firms all around the world.
A day where shopkeeper sales go boom.
Valentine's day only works for couples. Even though the more you love someone, the more expensive your gift should be, right? But for christmas, even though the prices vary, you're talking at least one item per person. Plus all the fancy glitter, candy canes, decorations, etc.
And let's not forget the expensive fancy dinners and extravagant food.

Thanks to christmas, the national economy makes billions of profits every year.
And all the families sit back at home, mainly focused on their panem et circemses, enjoying the wonders of material life and not suspecting a thing.

Do the math. if everyone buys only one ten dollar present in a country of 100 million, that's a billion dollars spent in total.

It might be the most unbeatable commercial scam in history. How would the average person consider a parent who dares not buying presents to his kids every December? Just how cruel is that? It's even worse than telling them that the red fat Santa Claws figure is only a publicity icon invented by Coca Cola in nineteen somethingsomething!
Never!
Commercialism has been integrated as part of our moral obligations. If you don't buy stuff at certain routine dates, you're evil, and mean.

And let's not forget birthdays, mother's and father's days, 3/6/9/ month dating anniversaries, etc.

Since when do we morally have to buy things on these occasions? Has it always been this important? Why can't people give each other gifts when they feel like it, instead of waiting on dates fixed on society and the gregorian calendar (which is all buggered up in the first place)?

To the Studioeight elders and non-occidentals, are there non-commercial versions of christmas through time and space? What was it like 3 or more decades ago?

[judih]

in my considered opinion, as an old-timer, it's always been nuts.

Unless you choose to opt out of the insanity.

We, in this family, opted out.
If there's something somebody wants, really wants, it's bought. Most of the time we don't buy, cause we don't have private income.

judih (how are you doing, traveller?)

[Traveller13]

I'm fine, a bit worn out, back from day at the beach.
I need to oranise my life until September, the weather's awesome, and I have people to go visit.
And you?

[judih]

organize your life by september?

that'll be good. Then you can relax and disorganize all over again.

i seem to be continuing my latest trend of non-verbality.

.

j